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William Brimage Bate 



(Late a Senator from Tennessee < 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



Fifty-ninth Congress 
Second Session 



SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

January 17, 1907 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
January 20, 1907 



Compiled under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing 



WASHINGTON : : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : : l"*? 



SEP21 mi 
D. of'B. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 
^ 

Page 

Proceedings in the Senate 5 

Prayer by Rev. Edward E. Hale 6 

Memorial addresses by — 

Mr. Carmack, of Tennessee 9 

Mr. Daniel, of Virginia iS 

Mr. Nelson, of Minnesota 27 

Mr. McEnery, of Louisiana 31 

Mr. Clark, of Montana 36 

Mr. Spooner, of Wisconsin 40 

Mr. Perkins, of California 43 

Mr. Frazier, of Tennessee 48 

Proceedings in the House 61 

Prayer by Rev. Henry N. Couden 62 

Memorial addresses by — 

Mr. Gaines, of Tennes.see 65 

Mr. Grosvenor, of Ohio 88 

Mr. Clark, of Missouri 97 

Mr. Richardson, of Alabama 103 

Mr. James, of Kentucky 109 

Mr. Brownlow, of Tennessee 113 

Mr. Stanley, of Kentucky 119 

Mr. Lamb, of Virginia 128 

Mr. De Armond, of Missouri 134 

Mr. Robinson, of Arkan.sas 141 

Mr. Meyer, of Louisiana 147 

Mr. Garrett, of Tennessee 153 

ilr. Butler, of Tennessee 163 

Mr. Houston, of Tennessee 166 

Mr. Padgett, of Tennessee 1 70 

Mr. Sims, of Tennessee 173 

3 



Death of Senator William B. Bate 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE 

Friday, June r, iqo6. 
Mr. Carmack. Mr. President, I give notice that on Satur- 
day, June 1 6, I will ask the Senate to consider resohitions 
in commemoration of the life, character, and public services 
of my late colleague, Hon. William B. Bate. 

Wednesday, /?^«f /j, igo6. 
Mr. Carmack. Mr. President, a few days ago I gave notice 
that on Saturday, the i6th instant, I would ask the Senate 
to consider resolutions of respect to my late colleague, Hon. 
William B. Bate; but on account of the necessary absence 
of a number of Senators who wish to make remarks, and at 
their request as well as at the request of my colleagues from 
Tennessee in the other House, I wish to withdraw that 
notice, and I shall renew it at some future time. 

Monday, December lo, i<^o6. 

Mr. Carmack. Mr. President 

The Vice-PrE.SIDENT. Does the Senator from Illinois yield 
to the Senator from Tennessee? 

Mr. Cullom. I do. 

Mr. Cakmack. I simply wish to give notice that on Thurs- 
day, January 17. I shall ask the Senate to consider resolutions 
of respect to my late colleague, Senator Bate, of Tennessee. 



6 .}/c'»ioria/ .Iddri'sscs : Wi/lidiii B. Bate 

THrKSDAY, /(?«//<?;r //, IQOJ. 

The Chaplain. Kcw lulward E. Hale, offered the following 
prayer: 

Take lotto von tlic teliolc armor ofCiod ^ that ye may be able 
to leith stand in the evil day, and havim^ done all, to stand. 
Stand therefore. 

Abhor that 7ehieh is evil: eleave to that lehieh is t;ood. Be 
kind/y affiitioned one to another; in honour pre/erring otie 
another: not slothful in business: fervent in spirit; serving the 
Lord. 

Behold, I come quickly, and my meard is -leith me, to give 
(very man according as his zeork shall be. Blessed are they 
that do His commandments, that they may have right to the 
tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 

Father of love, Father of life, we commemorate this day 
the service of him whom Thou wast ])leased to call from 
service here to hi!^;her ser\-ice there. Teach us. Father, every 
man, every woman, every boy, every girl, how to do the duty 
that comes next our hand in every living da\'. Show us what 
that duty is. Show us from hour to h(_iur how we are to do it. 
Give us strength for our weakness that we may be fellow- 
workmen with our God — not alone, not as if we could be alone, 
but as together, to bear each other's burdens, to live in the 
common life, each for all and all for each. This is our prayer; 
and that Thou wilt iniite us. Father, as Thine own children in 
Christ Jesus. 

(Jur Father who art in heaven, hallowed lie Thy name. 
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is done 
in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us 
our tresjiasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. 
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For 



l^rncccdiiigs in iJic Senate 7 

Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory. Forever and 
ever. Amen. 

Mr. C.\RMACK. Mr. President, some time ago I gave notice 
that to-day I .should ask the Senate to consider resolutions 
commemorative of the life and character of my late colleague, 
Hon. William B. B.vte. I send the resolutions to the desk, 
and ask that they ma>- be read. 

The Vice-President. The Secretary will read the resolu- 
tions submitted by the senior Senator from Tennessee. 

The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: 

Resolved, That tlie vSenate has heard with profound sorrow of the death 
of Hon. AViLUAM B. Bate, late a Senator from the State of Tenne.ssee. 

Resolved, That as a mark of respect to the memory of the deceased the 
business of the Senate be now suspended to enable his associates to pay 
proper tribute to his high character and distinguished public services. 

Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these resolutions to the 
House of Representatives. 

The Vice-President. The question is on agreeing to the 
resolutions submitted by the Senator from Tennessee. 
The resolutions were unauimouslv agreed to. 



MEMORIAL Addresses 



Address of Mr. CARMAa, of Tennessee 

Mr. President; It is with a feeling of peculiar tenderness 
and reverence that I approach the sad duty of this occasion. I 
was born within a mile of General Bate's homestead, lived 
among his friends and neighbors, listened with rapt attention 
to stories of camp and conflict as they fell from the lips of the 
heroic veterans who were his followers and comrades in battle, 
and from my early boyhood was deeply imbued with the spirit 
of personal devotion to him that prevailed among the people 
of his native county. In later years circuni-stances brought us 
much together, and I became his personal friend and supporter 
in all his political contests. My personal knowledge of the 
man revealed inborn qualities which strengthened my love for 
him and held it to the last; and the affectionate relations that 
have existed and do exist between our families are among the 
most precious blessings of life. 

Mr. President, if in youth one could be permitted to shape 
the end of his life he could not wish for it a happier termina- 
tion than that which closed the mortal career of William B. 
Bate. Full of years, full of fame, and full of honors he 
closed a life crowned with domestic peace and happiness, the 
esteem and confidence of his people, and that consciousness 
of duty faithfully done which more than all things else gives 
sweetness to life and takes bitterness from death. By the 
sternest code of honor he lived a life of rectitude. It is no 

' 9 



lo Memorial Addrcssrs: M'illiani B. Bate 

exaggeration to sa>' that neither to the right nor to the left, 
under whatever temptation, throughout a long life, full of 
action, full of excitement, full of strivings and honorable am- 
bitions, did he ever swerve by the breadth of a hair from the 
path of honor. In addition to all this, and higher and better 
than all this, the Christian's faith and hope were his; so that 
his peaceful death, met with a calm and quiet resignation, was 
a fitting close to such a life, a happy realization of the 
prophet's prayer, " Let me die the death of the righteous, 
and let my last end be like his. ' ' He died as one who knew 
that the gates of death were but the portals of inunortal life. 
William B. Bate was born in the old blue-grass county of 
Sunnier, a county still famed for the sterling character of its 
citizenship and the generous hospitality of its people. The 
world can not produce a nobler type of men and women than 
may there be found. They are worthy of the ancestry from 
whom they sprang. General Bate was the son of a Revolu- 
tionary .soldier, and came from the old pioneer stock who in the 
early history of the vState invaded this region with ax and rifle 
to hew through the jirimeval forests a pathway for civilization. 
They were men of heroic heart and simple faith. A faith in 
God that knew no doubts or questionings gave them the forti- 
tude to dare the terrors of the wilderness. On the frontiers of 
civilization, struggling with wild beasts and with j'et wilder 
men, they acquired the fundamental qualities tliat go to make 
the manners and tlie character of a gentleman — respect for 
one's self and for others. General B.\te was born near Old 
Bledsoe's Lick, and within sight of the old fort where the 
early .settlers found protection while yet the white man had to 
make good his title to the land against his savage foe. Here 
he spent the years of his boyhood until — a fatherless lad — he 
determined to go forth alone to match himself against the 



Address of Mr. C\iriuack, of Tennessee ii 

world. He went first to Nashville and secured a place as clerk 
on a steamboat which plied between Nashville and New- 
Orleans. The war with Mexico coming on, he enlisted in the 
latter cit}-, joining a company of Louisianians, and went to 
Mexico. He served out his term of enlistment with the 
Louisiana troops and then joined a company from his own 
State which had arrived upon the scene of hostilities and was 
made first lieutenant. In this capacity he served to the end of 
the war. 

After his return from Mexico he soon entered upon the 
study of law, graduating from the Cumberland Law School, at 
Lebanon, Tenn. He did not have to wait for clients, but at 
once achieved marked success in his profession, being elected 
prosecuting attorney for the district, including the city of 
Nashville, in the year 1854, just two years after he had been 
licensed as a practicing attorney. In 1856 he married Miss 
Julia Peete at Hunt.sville, Ala., the loving and faithful partner 
of 'his long and checkered life, who still survi\-es him. It so 
happens that this day upon which we connnemorate his life 
and ser\-ices is the annivensary of the day of their happy union. 

General Bate early developed a taste for politics, and as a 
member of the legislature and Presidential elector on the 
Breckinridge-Lane ticket he began his political career, a career 
which had already given promise of greatness when inter- 
rupted by the outbreak of the war of secession. 

Tennessee left the Union reluctantly and with .sorrow. She 
had voted down the first proposal to leave the Union l)y an 
immense majority. But when the .sece.ssion movement grew to 
such strength that war became inevitable, and she had to decide 
between the alternative of uniting her forces with or against 
her sister States of the South, she chose to abide the fortunes 
of the Southern Confederacy. Looking calml\- back from this 



12 Afrmorial Addresses: W'illiaiii />'. Bate 

peaceful time to that stormy period, I am ]5roud that she dared 
and sufFered with .the South. 

The martial, the military instinct in General Bate was 
stroniz:, ,and his whole heart and soul was in the cause of the 
South. Neither then nor afterwards, to his dying da\-, did he 
ever ipiestion the justice of her cause or permit, any man to do 
so in his presence without stern and empliatic rebuke. Tliat 
cause had in him a friend who was faithful unto death and 
beyoud the cjrave. 

He enlisted as a private in a company then forming at Gal- 
latin, was made its captain, and later was elected colonel of 
the regiment. In his eagerness to give his services on the field 
he promptly took his regiment to \'irginia and commanded it in 
the battle of Bull Run. As its term of enli.stment was about to 
exj)ire, so thoroughlx' had the rank and file become imbued with 
the si)irit of their conunander, when the proposiil was made to 
them to enlist for the war the entire regiment stepped forward 
as one man. There was not one laggard ir this regiment of 
Sunnier Connt>- lieroes. 

There was another conspicuous illustration of the spirit that 
prevailed in this regiment. Because of the ])romptitude with 
which they had gone to the front. Colonel Bate had been per- 
mitted ti> select the army in which his regiment should serve, 
and he natmallv selected the army of Tennessee. Upon the 
transfer being made, all the members of the regiment were 
given a sixty da\ s' finlough. Before this furlough had expired 
Albert .Sidnev Johnston made the movement which brought on 
the battle of Shiloh, and at the call of their colonel the mem- 
bers of this regiment xoluntarily abandoned the ease and com- 
fort of home, tore up their unexpired furloughs, and hastened 
to report for diU_\'. For many of them it meant death or muti- 
lating wounds, for this regiment was early in the battle and in 



Address of Mr. Cnrnmck, of Teiiitcsscc 13 

the "focal and foremost fire." In a desperate charge Colonel 
Bate rode in the verj- front of his regiment and cheered them 
toward the foe. While doing so he received a wound which 
shattered his leg, but he continued to lead his regiment onward 
until faintness from loss of blood caused the bridle reins to drop 
from his hands and until his horse was shot from under him. 
In that battle his brother and brother-in-law and a cousin were 
killed and another cousin severelj' wounded-— five members of 
one family in one regiment weltering in their blood upon one 
battlefield. 

Colonel Bate \&y for a long time in peril of death from his 
terrible wound. His surgeons decided that amputation was 
necessary, but it was characteristic of the man that he over- 
ruled the opinion of the surgeons and decided to take the 
chance of recovery without the loss of his limb. His decision 
meant that he would take all the chances of death rather 
than become luiserviceable to his country in its hour of peril. 
He slowly recovered from his wound and was indeed badly 
crippled throughout the war. He returned to his command 
on crutches as a brigadier-general. 

He was so badly crippled that it was not believed that he 
would again be fit for duty in the field, and a movement sprang 
up to make him governor of the vState to succeed Isham G. 
Harris, whose term was soon to expire. There is no doubt 
whatever that he could have been elected ; but he promptly 
declared that he would accept no civil office, but would share 
all the perils of battle with his comrades unto the bitter end. 
He was afterwards twice wounded while yet .so badly crippled 
from his former wound that he had to be lifted to his horse 
as he rode at the head of his command. He had three horses 
killed under him at Chickamauga, and everywhere and under 
all circumstances he exhibited that same spirit that won the 



14 Memorial Addresses: Wi/lia))/ B. Bate 

name bestowed upon him in the ofBcial report of his division 
commander, General Stuart, at Chickamauga — "the indomi- 
table." I sliall not dwell upon the details of his military 
career. I need not do so — there are volumes of eulog}- in the 
simple statement that he entered the army as a private soldier 
and left it as a major-general. From the hopeful beginning to 
the end of the sad but glorious chapter, when he surrendered 
the ragged, famished, battle-torn, heroic remnant of his com- 
mand, it was the same story of a devotion that knew no weak- 
ness and a valor that knew no fear. Upon his tombstone, and 
upon that of every Tennes.sean who followed laim, may be 
written without flatter}- the characterization of Bayard — "a 
knight without fear and without reproach." 

When the war was over he returned to the practice of law, 
removing to the capital city of Nashville, and soon commanded 
an innnense practice. He was especially successful in jury 
trials, and at the time when he became governor in 18S2 his 
firm probal)ly had the large.st practice in the State. 

He was elected governor at a time when the refunding of 
the State debt followed as a result of the settlement which 
was an i.ssue in this campaign. An incident in connection 
with this shows the extreme punctiliousne.ss of his sense of 
duty. The law required that the new bonds issued should 
be signed by the governor. When it was proposed to prepare 
a stamp by which the facsimile of his signature might be 
placed upon the bonds he insisted upon an exact compliance 
with the letter of the law and of undergoing the immen.se 
physical labor and writing the signattire upon each with his 
own hand. In all his career this same nice and self-exacting 
sense of duty governed his pulalic and his private conduct. 

After his second term as governor came his election to the 
Senate. It was a battle of the Titans in which he then pre- 



Address of Mr. Car mack ^ of Tcnucssee 15 

vailed. Intellectual giants like ex-Governor Marks and ex- 
Congressman John F. House contended with him in friendly 
and chivalrous rivalry, and yielded him the palm without bit- 
terness as to a victor worthy of their steel. 

In politics he lived and died a Democrat — not simply in the 
sense that he supported the nominees of his party, but because 
he was a thorough believer in its great fundamental principles. 
Like the late Isham G. Harris, he clung with tenacity to his 
party's earliest creed and felt a sense of resentment for every 
deviation from the Jeffersonian principle of a strict con.sfruc- 
tion of the Constitution. 

In his service here he was faithful, industrious, diligent, a 
close student of the business of the Senate, having a clear 
understanding of the questions of the day, and when he chose 
to do so he presented his views with great ability, learning, 
and power. A speech on the tariff question in the early years 
of his .service showed him to be a profound student of national 
taxation, and his speech upon what, in our part of the country, 
was usually denominated the ' ' force bill ' ' was liberally quoted 
from one end of the land to the other. 

But above all other qualities, he bore among his a.ssociates 
here a reputation for honor and integrit\- that was without a 
stain. No suspicion of an unworthy motive was ever imputed 
to any act of his. No man here or eLsewhere ever felt one 
moment's doubt as to the absolute rectitude of his intentions. 

It is a fact significant of the iiappy passing of old issues, of 
old passions and prejudices, that among the most devoted 
friends he had in this Chamber were those who wore the blue 
when he wore the gray, who fought under the Stars and 
Stripes when he fought under the stars and bars; with whom 
he contended for life and death in the awful shock of battle. 
There are no truer friends than those who have been honorable 



i6 Memorial Addresses: Ul'/liain B. Bate 

foes, and the handclasp that is made above the grave of kin- 
dred dead is never broken. Even as he loved and honored 
those who fought by his side he loved and honored those who 
confronted them. And while old associations, the memory of 
common sorrows and of common sufferings, botind him as with 
hooks of steel to his comrades in arms, the .story of that great 
war was to him a les.son of American prowess and American 
valor, which, united under a connnon flag, coidd withstand the 
world in arms. 

His intense devotion to the memory of the cause for which 
he had fought, and of the comrades who had died for that 
cause, might seem to the superficial inconsi.stent with heartfelt 
devotion to the Union; but you in this Chamber who fought 
on the other side, none of you ever questioned for one moment 
the loyalty to the Union of this battle-.scared old hero of the 
Confederacy. You lo\-ed and honored him for his very fidelity 
to those hallowed memories and hallowed graves. You, who 
like him, but on the opposing side, have passed through the 
furnace of war know that he who can lightly forget what was 
once the cause of his country, the cause for which its women 
prayed, and for which its sons had died, could not be loyal 
to any country or faithful to any flag. You knew that he 
brought to the service of the whole country as faithful a devo- 
tion to duty as when fighting for the cause of the Confederacy 
on the red edge of battle. The Confederacy had no braver 
knight than William B. Bate when war was flagrant in the 
land; the Union has had no truer friend since the war clouds 
were lifted and the waiting sunlight came down to bless the 
land, which is the common hope, as it is the common heritage, 
of us all. His love for the Confederacy was but the faith- 
fulness of memory to the noble dead — that lingering with 
uncovered head by the tomb of old comrades and fallen 
hopes which purifies and exalts the .soul. 



Address of Mr. Car mack., of Tennessee 17 

Mr. President, it is true that "peace hath her victories no 
less renowned than war." William B. Bate was one of 
those who came back from the war, surveyed the scene of red 
ruin and blank desolation that overspread his country, and 
then with heart resolute and undismayed faced the awful 
problems of that awful time. All the heroism displayed 
through four blazing years of war pales into insignificance by 
the side of that story of patience, constancy, and fortitude 
which enabled a weaponless and uncaptained army of disfran- 
chised citizens to win victory even from defeat. 

In private life General Bate was simple, plain, devoid of 
artifice or ostentation. Unusually blessed in his domestic rela- 
tions, he found his happiest hours around the family hearth- 
stone and in the company of congenial friends ; but in all the 
walks of life the same high courage and noble qualities which 
won him honor and fame in field, in forum, and in Senate were 
his. And when he came to meet the inevitable hour these 
qualities rose supreme and he blenched not when he stood face 
to face with the king of terrors. Over him the grave could 
win no victory and for him death had no sting. As in the 
ardor of his youthful prime he had faced death without a 
tremor, with all the courage of a .soldier, so at the last he met 
death with all the fortitude of a Chri.stian. At peace with his 
fellow-man, with his conscience, and his God, "he gave his 
honors to the world again, his blessed part to Heaven, and 
slept in peace." 

S. Doc. 403, 59-2 2 



iS Memorial .iiidres.scs : W'illiaiii B. Bate 



Address of Mr. Daniel, of Virginia 

Mr. President: We have halted on the forced march that 
is made necessary by the short and congested session of Con- 
gress, and we have called a trnce to all dissension that we may 
pay tribute to the memory of one of our number whose name 
the Ruler of the Universe has stricken forever from the Senate 
roll and from the roll of life. The shadow of death marks the 
boundaries of man's common country. By the reconciling 
grave we arc one. 

William Bkijlvgk B.vte was a soldier of his country before 
he became a man. He had just entered his fourth term of 
service in this body when he departed from us. Throughout 
his long and useful life he was an earnest and honest soldier 
of the common good. 

At the close of his service he left l)ehind him a clean, white 
record, which bears witness that iln'ough his life's ceaseless 
struggle he was always "present for duty." and that as Clod 
gave him to .see that duty .so he did it, whatever might befall. 

He had pas.sed considerably beyond the period of threescore 
years and ten before he died — indeed, he was in his eightieth 
year — but his strength had remained eciual to his tasks; and it 
is consoling to reflect that it was not in the valley of helpless- 
ness that he left us nor lay the jiroccss of slow deca>-. 

No matter when death comes, .so mighty is the change it is 
startling and sudden. 

No matter what the premonitions may be, and no matter 
howsoever we steel our hearts to meet the inevitable, the blow- 
that shivers the life of one belox'eil and honored must lacer- 
ate the sensibilities and pall upon the affections. 



Address of Mr. Daniel, of Virginia 19 

Although the shadow upon the dial marked the evening of 
his days, Senator Bate was here and took the oath of office 
for a new term on the 4th of March, 1905. 

I had stood bv his side when he entered the Senate in 
1887, and again was with him when he was sworn in the 
last time. 

Together we joined in the line of Senators that proceedec' 
from this hall to witness the inauguration of President Roose- 
velt from the east front of the Capitol. As we passed out of 
the Chamber I said to him, "General, I have seen you sworn 
into the Senate for four times, and I hope that you may long 
live and that I may have the pleasure of seeing you sworn in 
again;" but it was not so written. 

As we reached the throng pressing forward through the 
halls of the Capitol we became detached from each other and 
I never saw him more. A severe cold, contracted by the 
exposure to tlie piercing atmosphere of the inaugural occasion, 
brought on pneumonia, and soon the sad intellegence came 
that William BRniAOE Bate was no more. 

He was born in the blue-grass region of Tennessee, in Sum- 
ner County, as his colleague has recounted, in the midst of 
the scenes of the old Indian wars, near Bled.soe's Lick, which 
is now known as Castalian Springs, in a section that abounds 
with incidents of the encounters between the hardy pioneers 
and the stubborn tribes of Indians who .stood in their pathway. 
He sprung from that yeoman stock which loves the land and 
fights for it, and, plastic of mind and heart, he was full of the 
traditions and legends which inspire manhood to high emprise. 
"Old Hickory" said, and he was of that region, that "the 
man who was born and reared among these people deserved 
but little credit for being a gentleman or a .soldier, for he 
could not help it." 



20 Memorial Addresses: U^illiam fi. Bate 

The blood of the pioneers of X'irginia and Nortli Carolina 
mingled in his veins. Tillage of the soil, the earliest and 
purest of avocations, was theirs. They held the .simple faith 
of the Baptists, and they looked on life as a real, earnest, and 
.solemn matter, to be met by the best that was in them. 

When >et in his teens, yoinig Bate, with that spirit of 
adventure and desire to see the world which is apt to charac- 
terize the youth of our race, set out for New Orleans, having 
become a clerk on the steamer Saladin. plying between Nash- 
ville and that city. 

The expan.sion of our race has never come from congestion 
at home. They ha\'e gone forth into all lauds from that spirit 
of enterprise and love of romance and adventure which the 
Creator has implanted in their ambitious, strong, and aspiring 
blood. 

The Mexican war was on, and, joining a Loui.siana com- 
mand, the boy B.\TE, as a private soldier, with his musket on 
his shoulder, marched with it to the relief of Zachary Taylor 
on the border of Mexico. This service ended, he became first 
lieutenant of Company I, Third Tenne.ssee Volunteers, was 
selected as its adjutant, and with it served until the conclusion 
of the Mexican war. 

From second clerk on a steamer and private in the ranks he 
rose bv steady gradations to the foremost places in both peace 
and war. To glance at the positions in which he was placed 
by the confidence and trust of the people is as if to let the eye 
range over the rungs of the a.scending ladder by which he 
climbed to eminence and renown. Private and lieutenant in 
the Mexican war, editor of the Tenth Legion, a Democratic 
journal, after the return to peace, and a member of the legisla- 
ture, and then came his settling down to the study of the legal 
profession in 1S50, when he entered a law school in Lebanon, 
Tenn., graduating in 1852. 



Address of Mr. Danic/, of I'irffinia 21 

Soon again he climbs upward. He became attorney-general 
for the judicial district which was composed of Sumner, David- 
son, and Williamson counties, which include the city of Nash- 
ville, for six years. While holding this office he was nominated 
for Congress, but declined. In i860 he was elector upon the 
Breckinridge ticket for the Presidency, but Tennessee stood 
slow and patient, as did my own State, upon the edge of war, 
and each of them gave their electoral vote to John Bell. 

In 1 86 1 the lightnings of war flashed from the clouds of long 
dissension. It was the rear guard fight about an institution 
which perplexed the nations of the earth for countless ages 
past. Again he took his place at the bottom of the ladder, 
enlisting as a private of volunteers. He was elected captain 
of the company which became Company I, of the Second 
Tennessee, and later was elected colonel of the regimeut. 
Brigadier-general in 1862, major-general in 1863, corps com- 
mander of the renmant of a great command at the surrender. 
Bate made a name as a soldier, liased upon facts which can 
never be confu.sed v.x belittled, which places him in the front 
rank of just renown. 

In the conflicts of 1862-1864 he was wounded, first at Shiloh, 
in 1862, then at Hoovers Gap, in 1863, and then again at 
Atlanta, in 1864: and as the rings in the bark of a tree mark 
the years of its growth, so the years of his .service were marked 
with scars upon his per.son. 

"Indomitable Bate" was the characterization of him by 
Gen. A. P. Stewart, after the bloody battle of Missionary Ridge, 
in which three horses were killed under him. 

No hero of all that bloody strife more possessed the confi- 
dence of the .soldiers whom he commanded and of the superior 
officers who commanded him. 

The war records make enduring pedestal for the statue of his 



22 Memorial Addresses: William B. Bate 

fame, and whetliL-r they were composed b>' a soldier upon one 
side or tlie otlier they are in the main the embodiment of the 
triitli. If neither of the armies which opposed each other had 
otlier chroniclers and commentators than those who fought 
against them, their great heroic characters and their fame would 
l)e permanentl)' enshrined. 

vSomeday Tennessee will raise his own figure on that pedestal, 
and it will sometime stand in Ijronze in his beloved Tennessee, 
where it will not only attest the valor ,ind devotion of the past 
but be an in.spiration to the youth of the volunteer State, which 
will ' ' keep the soldier firm and the statesman true. ' ' 

I heard one of his captains, W'ho was himself wounded at 
Shiloh, say that over the roll of the nnisketry could be heard 
the voice of B.VTK cheering on his soldiers. Presently one of his 
men said to him, "Colonel Batk must be down, for I hear his 
voice no more." So in truth it was; and soon near Shiloh 
Church lay five of his family near each other, three killed and 
two wounded, his brother, Capt. Humphrey Bate, amongst the 
dead, him.self amongst the stricken. 

But enough of war. Apart from tlie nobleness of sacrifice 
and the greatness of soul which the trials of war stimulated 
aiid brought forth, and, apart from the removal of the can.se of 
.strife, the l)est thing about the great conflict is that it is over 
and that it will come no more ; Init the bra\-e and true of each 
side will Ix- cherished as a people's legacy, adding lu.ster to the 
American name. 

When .surrender came at Bentonville in 1S65 B.\TE rode to 
the remnant of his old division, which stood in line, dismounted, 
hobbled on his crutches to his old brigade and regiment, and, 
when the order to stack arms was given for the last time, he 
stood amongst those with whom he had been a pri\-ate soldier, 
and from them departed as a private citizen once more. 



Address of Mr. Dain'c/, of I 'irs;tttia 23 

Napoleon taught tliat the officer must take his place with his 
soldiers in surrender, as in the l.iattle. It needed no Napoleon 
to tell that to Bate. It is the instinct of such brave and 
honest spirits as was his. 

Now again he was at the bottom of the ladder, and again his 
ascent began. For seventeen j-ears he seduloush' practiced his 
profession, and rose to high rank and large practice. In 1875 
he came within one vote of being elected a Senator of the ITnited 
States, and by the change of a single vote Andrew John.son was 
chosen. 

In 1S76 he was an elector at large on the Tilden ticket, and 
for a second time he bore the Democratic banner on the Fed- 
eral field. In 1882 he became Governor of Tennessee, and was 
a second time chosen. In 1887 he entered the United vStates 
Senate. His services here were diligent, constant, and unre- 
mitting. The greater part of a vSenator's work makes little 
noise and gets little notice. In the committee room and in 
council with colleagues is worked out, for the most part, the 
legislation of the country. It is rare that a speech controls 
the action of this body. The wise suggestion at the proper 
time makes no record. The careful and precise studj" of 
details may become as potent as the luiderground wire that 
lights a city or that drives its engines and trains, but the eye 
gets no picture of it. But his services here were by no means 
confined to mere detail. He is regarded as practically the 
author of the Weather Bureau and the Signal vService in their 
present organization. He was the author of the Ijill which 
ended the supervision of elections by the Federal Government, 
and his hand was seen and his influence felt in many of the 
good w^orks which emanated from the committees on which 
he served and have pa.ssed into legislation. Though not a 
frequent .speaker, he po.ssessed ability and eloquence which 
were exemplified on pertinent occasions. 



24 Memorial .hMrrssrs: William B. Bate 

Those who served with him for years in the Senate will 
never forget the great fight he made to prevent the removal of 
the Jackson statue from what is known as Lafayette square. 
His opposition to its removal was successful, although prep- 
aration had already been made and in part completed to 
take awav the equestrian statue of Jackson and put it on the 
corner of the square, instead of letting it stay as the center- 
piece. No corner for Jackson, but the chief place, said 
Bate. So, on the center of the .scjuare in front of the White 
House Old Hick(ir>- still rides erect his prancing steed, and 
because he had a champion of the stuff whereof he — the hero 
of New Orleans — was made. 

The combination of intelligence, sagacity, and courage, com- 
mingled with the many virtues that go to make np the gentle- 
man, the soldier, and the good citizen, came together in force 
of character in William B. Bate and made him a foremost 
man. His heart was loyalty itself. He adhered to principles 
wherever they carried him. He would not compromise a 
creed nor give to expediency what belonged to conviction. 

He respected the opinions of others and treated all with 
courtesy; and the courtesy which he freely bestowed he in 
turn exacted. 

He seemed old-fashioned in his .strict adherence to the ideals 
of his teachings and his convictions, and the light and frivo- 
lous sometimes attributed to the stubbornness of his nature 
what was in truth only the clearness and tenacity of his faith. 

He was a man of simplicity and devoid of ostentation. He 
never spoke just to be heard of men, but only to carry to 
them a message which went forth from his heart and mind. 
Many of his speeches were notable for their careful and well- 
considered views and for the clearness and power with which 
thev were uttered. 



Address of Mr. Daniel, of lirg/iiia 25 

On festival and on memorial occasions, especially upon those 
that commemorated noble characters and great deeds, Senator 
Bate was frequently the welcome orator, and his addresses 
were marked liy those truthful historical allusions, those 
worthy reflections, and those lieauties of poesy and eloquence 
that gave instruction in the most attractive and pleasing 
garb of expression. 

I can not take my seat, Mr. President, without adverting 
to the happy domestic life of Senator Bate. Fifty-one years 
ago he married Miss Peete, of Huntsville, Ala. Their union 
was blessed with children — all daughters — two of whom sur- 
vive. His home was not only his castle; it was his temple, 
and those nearest and dearest to him were his constant thought. 

On one occasion, when on some public ceremonial a compli- 
ment was paid to Mrs. Bate, who had been his helpmate and 
companion for many years, the Senator recognized it and thus 
respected it : 

I thank you — 

He said to tho.se who had paid this tribute to her he loved 
best — 

I thank you fur this compliment to my wife, and I challenge any man 
to have a better right to feel more kindly and lovingly to the beautiful 
and charming women of Alabama than I do. You will pardon the 
personality when I say that in the long ago — and it .seems to me but 
yesterday — it was in the beautiful little city of Huntsville, Ala. , nestling 
at the foot of Monte Sano, overlooking a valley thai smiled with de- 
light, that I was given, under a wreath of orange blossoms, one of the 
loveliest of all the sweet girl flowers that grew and bloomed in that 
refined and cultivated social garden. She has been for more than forty 
years my companion and comfort — through war and peace, through weal 
and woe, througli good and evil fortune — and although she has gone 
into motherhood and grand motherhood still .she is my cheerful compan- 
ion and my faithful comforter. So I feel that I can challenge with 
impunity the right of any man who was not born under Alabama's 
segis and who does not live on Alabama soil to feel nearer and dearer 
to Alabama than I. 



26 Memorial Addresses: ]]'iUiam B. Bale 

There is an ancient adage which .says " ever_\- man is the 
child of his own works." vSo, obviou.sly, was William 
Bkimage Bate. He was a matter-of-fact man, and he built 
himself from the ground. He dreamed no dreams of frenzied 
fancy; he saw* no visions ; he owned no castles in Spain, and 
took no stock in Utopia. Nevertheless, the .spirit of poesy and 
the charm of romance were in his heart, and there, too, was 
the fountain of that natural eluquence which flowed forth 
when the true spring was touched. 

There was nothing dim and there was nothing doubtful about 
him. He stood fourscpiare to all the winds that blew. His 
people looked upon his works, and they .saw that they were 
good. They felt the beat of his strong, true heart and the warm 
grasp of his honest hand. They knuw him, and their con.stancy 
was l)ut the reflected image of his own constancy to them. 

I had the honor to l)e among those who bore his Ixxly l.)ack 
to Nashville, and stood and saw it laid in his native soil. 
The vast outpouring of the people was impressive. But nothing 
was more impressive than the gray line of his old Confederate 
comrades that followed his hear.se and fired the last salute over 
his grave. vSome of them were yet sturdy and strong, some 
wrinkled and haggard with life's accumulated burdens, some as 
gray haired as the coats they wore. Hut all of them were of 
one mind of approval and of one heart in the spirit of love for 
the dead hero who rode in their front in liattle and in their 
front at the last recei\-ed the bolt (.if fate. There we laid him 
in the dust at the bottom of life's ladder. There he rests in 
the abiding honor and affection of the people of Tennessee. 
Nor will Tennessee alone remember him. He .served the whole 
American people as a worthy .Senator and as a patriotic citizen. 
He who considers his history, sees he not also another ladder 
rising in the vision of immortalit\', its foot resting on the earth, 
its summit disappearing from mortal ken in the heavens? 



Address of Mr. Xe/soii, of Minnesota 27 



Address of Mr. Nelson, of Minnesota 

Mr. President: While the thirteen colonies were struggling;- 
to secure their independence from Great Britain, there was a 
small band of determined and hardy frontiersmen of the Caro- 
linas and \"irginia who pressed westward over the spurs of the 
Allegheny Moinitains into the valleys of the Cumberland, the 
Tennessee, and the Ohio, and wrested the same from the cruel, 
crafty, and indolent .savages who roamed through the wilder- 
ness, a terror and a menace to the .settlers on the frontier. 
These frontiersmen wrought their impress upon the Revolution- 
ary struggle, directly and at a most critical time, at Kings Moun- 
tain, and indirectly b\- repressing to a large extent throughout 
the unequal struggle the bloody aggressions of the savage allies 
of Great Britain. But the greatest result uf their task was this; 
That at the conclusion of the war they furnished the colonies 
the basis and ground for claiming and acquiring that fertile 
and vast expanse of country between the Allegher.ies and the 
Mississippi River. And thus the heroic struggles of these 
brave men inured in the fullest sense to the great advantage 
and glory of the entire nation. 

These men were preeminently, both intuitively and by train- 
ing, a race of warriors and vState builders. What they con- 
quered and subdued with the rifle and the ax, they knew how 
to organize, maintain, and govern conformable to the princijiles 
of free government. 

From the very loins of this race, as its best type and po.ssessed 
of all the virile courage and vigor of it, came Senator B.VT}C, our 
coworker and associate for many years in this body. He died in 
the seventy-ninth year of his age, at peace with all the world, 



28 Memorial Addresses: Ji'illiaiii B. Bate 

after a most e\-entfiil and fruitful life such as falls to the lot of 
but few men. He was a veteran in the pul)lic service and had 
been a veteran in both war and peace. I can not enter into the 
details of his long; life and varied career. Those who stand 
nearer to him than I are better qualified for this task. I can 
only give my impression of him as I saw him, heard him, and 
knew him. 

He was one of the bravest men that ever lived. This he 
atte.sted on many a bloody field of battle and in many a civic 
strife and controversy, but his bravery was of the higher order, 
a moral and intellectual bravery, based on principle and con- 
viction, and not of the grosser kind, the mere bravery of the 
bulls-. He was always brave in the performance and execution 
of what he conceived to be his duty, of what he deemed right 
and just, never evading or shirking a burden or responsibility, 
never faltering, however great the odds. But he was a gladiator 
of the noblest type, scorning to take a mean or underhanded 
advantage of his adversaries, manly and forbearing at all times 
and under all circumstances. He had no patience for shams or 
mere glamor of an\' kind ; he could always distinguish, in man 
or measure, the counterfeit, however much embellished, from 
the real aud substantial. He had no tolerance for the former, 
but was always ready and swift to embrace the latter. Like 
all brave men of the higher type, he was gentle, kind, and sym- 
pathetic in all spheres and walks of life and in all the varied 
and trying affairs of life. That air of arrogant loftiness and 
supreme self-sufficiency which tokens the vain, the blood or 
the purse-proud man, was utterly foreign to his nature and 
make-up. He gauged men at their real measure and worth, 
and on that level he was always ready to meet them. There 
never was a more modest man than he in military or civic life. 
What he wrou.ght on the bloody fields of' battle or in the realm 



Address of Mr. Nelson, of Minnesota 29 

of the civil service of his State and country he left others to tell 
and extol. He preferred to be measured by his deeds rather 
than by his words. Men of action are, as a rule, brief and 
modest in speech, and are content with results rather than 
mere praise. 

As a member of this body he was one of its most useful mem- 
bers, faithful in attendance, both in .ses.sion and in connnittee. 
He never .shirked, but was always ready to bear his full share 
of the drudgery of legislation — that drudgery so es.sential but 
often little noted by the public at large. He did not belong to 
that .school of legislators who are content and feel that they have 
done their whole duty if they deliver one or two .set speeches 
during the session. While he was not a prolific debater, yet he 
never abstained from discussing a measure of importance that 
he felt called upon to support or oppo.se, and his discussion was 
always instructive, clear, and to the merits. He never .spoke 
for the mere sake of .speaking — for mere oratorical display. He 
was always in earnest, and when he .spoke he spoke to pa.ss or 
defeat a measure. He never supported or opposed a measure 
for the mere purpo.se of courting popularity. His attitude was 
governed by what he conceived to be right and just in the 
premises. In other words, it was always a matter of principle 
with him. 

His environment and training had been such that on all 
constitutional questions he belonged to the .so-called "school 
of strict constructionists" — strict in measuring the rights of the 
Federal Government, but liberal in measuring the rights of the 
States. And in this he was the child of his age, his State, and 
his surroundings. Our system of government is such that 
from the very begiiniing it bred and evoked two schools of 
con.stitutional construction, the one tending to fortif>' the Fed- 
eral and the other to fortify the State power. And whatever 



30 Meiunrhi/ Ai^drcssfs: W'illiaui H. Bate 

else niay he said mi the suljject, all fair-minded men, I think, 
will concede that the one school is a valuable check and 
restraint upon the exuberance of the other, and that l)et\\-eeu 
the contentions of the two the people, who have given their 
power of attorne>- to the P''e(leral Government for national 
and Federal purposes and to the State government for local 
and State purposes, will ultimately secure and maintain that 
equilibrium of double power and double purpose which is the 
mainspririg and the glory of our wonderful Federal system. 

Senator Bate died faithful and loyal to our flag and to the 
best interests of our country. Its welfare was foremost and 
uppermost in his lo\e and affection. He was one of its brave, 
faithful, and trusty legislative sentinels, on duty when he 
passed away. His countersign in his last moments was "the 
ITnion now and forever." Tennessee never had a more lionest, 
more faithful, and more zealous representative in the United 
vStates Senate, and we, his colleagues, had in him a Senator 
who was always on duty, always at the laboring oar. His task 
and his mi.ssion on earth are ended. He did not live in vain; 
he wrought nnicli for the good of our country and for the cause 
of our common humanity. He was a vSenator of the United 
"-'tates in the fullest sen.se of the term, and the recording angel 
will enter him as a brave, upright, and faithful man, and as a 
public .servant who bore the burdens of life fearlessly and 
heroicallv to the last. 



Address cf Mr. McEiicry, of Louisiana 31 



Address of Mr. McEnery, of Louisiana 

Mr. President: William Brimage Bate's career was 
eventful. His strong personality- gave evidence of conflict and 
victories. It was stamped in every lineament of his face and 
expressed itself in his every motion. He was not born to remain 
an idle .spectator amidst stirring events nor to participate in 
them merely content with duties simply performed, but to be 
the controlling .spirit and leader. As a boy he was on the 
Mississippi River, and caught inspiration from that mighty 
.stream. The rough experience of life on that river has edu- 
cated hardy, strong men, with strong intellects, indomitable 
will and courage, making a perfect type of true and vigor- 
ous manhood. Leaving this river, with its strong impressions 
upon him, he became the boy hero of the Mexican war. This 
experience carried him to the Tennessee legi.slature in young 
manhood, where he was distinguished. Hardly stopping for 
rest or recreation, he entered upon the practice of the law, 
mastered this intricate .science, and soon became eminent, and 
was elected attorney-general of the Nashville district, in which 
office he served six years. During his incumbency of this 
office he was nominated for Congress, but declined this high 
honor. His entry into politics was brilliant, but was stopped 
for the moment by the civil war. But his activity did not 
cease. 

With his experience in war and civil life and the high posi- 
tion he occupied, he would have been justified in demanding 
high military rank, but, having self-confidence and measuring 
his ability, he knew that opportunity alone was wanting for 
advancement. Therefore he entered the Confederate armv as 



32 Memorial Addresses: William B. Bate 

a private, Vmt rapidly ascended to captain, colonel, brigadier 
and major general. He literally fought hi.s way to supremacy. 
He was always to the front and three times dangerously 
wounded while in the lead. What a record for a soldier! 
What nation would not be proud of such and crown him with 
all the honors it could bestow! 

Here he could have rested, having achieved all the fame and 
glory to satisfy the most ambitious. But his ambition was 
as.sociated with dut\' to his unfortunate countrymen. He still 
fought for their deliverance from an infamous, hell-born des- 
potism and again became acti\e in political life. His people 
appreciated his unselfish patriotism and the sacrifice made in 
their behalf, and twice placed him in the executive office of 
his State. He made a great governor, ranking among the 
be.st, and his efforts were untiring to reduce taxation and to 
give the people a clean and economical administration. He 
succeeded and was rewarded by a .seat in this honorable body. 
His history here is well known, and laws enacted during his 
several terms in the Senate bear the impress of his genius. 
Those who served with him know his ability, the grandeur of 
his character, and the ser\nces he rendered to the nation. 

Worst to be endured than all that he had yet encountered was 
the tyranny and fetters fastened upon him and his people after 
the cessation of hostilities between the States, the being buried 
while yet alive, to the sad condition of his people. He fought 
and battled for right while thus fettered and buried. He 
used every energy of his being to cast aside the trannnels 
and to burst from the cerements of that tomb and take his 
place in the van of his countrymen, struggling for liberty — 
aye, for life it.self. He carried them on in accelerated progress, 
in improvement in government, and in material things, which 
prostrated to the dust the puny obstacles of legislative, judicial, 
and executive tvrannv. 



Address of Mr. AfcEfiery, of Louisiana 2>2> 

It can safely be asserted that no CDiiditioiis such as followed 
the close of the civil war can ever he renewed in this country. 
Bad men, vicious men, can no longer obtain sway over a people 
ignorant and easily led by interested advisers acting for their 
own selfish ends. That terrible departure from justice which 
marked the period of reconstruction has taught a le.s.son that 
it is unsafe to depart from the .sacred rule of civil polity not 
to bestow power where there is no effective and individual 
responsibility. 

His great energy and ability when thus freed strove to defeat 
the cunning and sordid plots of monopolists. When he thus 
entered political life he was free, no longer the .slave of a fanat- 
ical party, no longer at the mercy of designing and intriguing 
politicians who planned and plotted for the disfranchisement of 
honest and brave men of the South. He had attained that 
position, and, on this vantage ground, after his entrance into the 
Senate he struggled- for honest government, a government not 
of promises but of actual accomplishments. He rejoiced in the 
prospect of good government, in the progress of trade, of private 
and political virtue, and the attainment of national prosperity 
in the restoration of the people's rights. In peace he won 
laurels more imperishable than those which crowned him in 
war. His achievements here and his fame belong to the nation. 
He did well and nobly his appointed task in life, and he now 
rests from his labors and sleeps under the simple but not in- 
glorious epitaph commemorating "One in whom mankind lost 
a friend and no man got rid of an enemy." 

He had no irritability of temper and was not impatient of 
contradiction, but on subjects he had mastered and on which 
he held strong opinions he was tenacious. He comprehended 
all subjects of legislation and had the rare faculty of mastering 
all details and combining them with general views of the whole 
S. Doc. 403, 59-2—07 3 



34 Miiiioria/ Ac/c/rcsses : William B. Bate 

subject-matter, thus :ivailin>< himself of all that speculatiim 
presents and experience affords to correct the results of jjeneral 
reasoning. 

His orations were clear and logical, eloquent and classical: 
" The first creditor of ever\- people is the plow, and upon the 
furrows which it turns reposes the great mass of national 
wealth." Such sentences of classical inspiration are fre- 
quently met in his addresses. His physique was strong and 
vigorous, enabling him to endure the .severest strains of mental 
labor. His faculties were strong and coordinate, enabling him 
to concentrate them with force and vigor to accompli.sh his 
purpo.ses. With such iihysical, moral, and intellectual force 
he readily achieved the highest distinction as jurist, soldier, 
and .statesman. To follow him in all his efforts in acquiri-ag 
the highest honors would be to review the jurisprudence of his 
State and the histor\- of the battles of two wars and the con- 
flict for political mastery in Tennessee. In all this conflict 
and endeavor his was the master mind. He pressed forward 
to success and victory with character unsullied and not a \oice 
raised in detraction. His achievements were in a State which 
in c\erv crisis of her histor\- developed great men, whether in 
the forum or in the field. To meet and to successfull\- com- 
pete with such men great qualities in manhood and intellect 
were required. 

His character was a grand one in its integrity, its honesty, 
and its puritv. He had a lofty disdain for all that was low 
and mean. There was no shadow of fanaticism to cloud his 
character or to disturb his judgment. He was in puljlic and in 
private life a person of the purest morals, and his indignation 
was aroused by profligacy or groveling baseness. His nature 
was kind and affectionate and true, and there was never a more 
stead\- or sincerer friend. 



Address of Mr. McEnery, of Louisiana 35 

He had approached the evening of life. For him the sun 
was sinking beneath the horizon, and the shadows were gath- 
ering fast around him. They enveloped him in final embrace, 
it may be said, in this Chamber, and when the light went out 
it was amid the scenes of his labors and in the last discharge 
of dutv. 



•^6 Memorial Addresses: William B. Bale 



Address of Mr. Clark, of Montana 

Mr. President: To have been requested by the near 
friends of the late Senator Bate to say a few words on this 
occasion is a privilege and honor which I deeply appreciate. 

It was my good fortune for .several years before his demi.se 
to be .seated next to him in this Chamber and to exchange 
with him the glad morning greetings which his kindly heart 
ahva\s prompted. We had frequent conversations and dis- 
cussed freely the various pending questions of impurtance with 
which the Senate was occupied from time to time; and often- 
times, although not inclined to be communicative as to himself, 
I drew from him many \-ery interesting reminiscences of his 
eventful life. 

No member of this body was more punctual in attendance 
than he. Nothing but the most .serious illne.ss of himself or 
famih- prevented his presence here, and uniformly in time for 
the prayers of the Chaplain, for which he manifested the great- 
est reverence and respect. I am glad to acknowledge my deep 
sense of obligation and gratitude to him for wise counsel and 
advice always cheerfully given, and, above all, for his kindly 
acts and words, which so deepl>- endeared me toward him. 

The fatal illne.ss which carried him away .so suddenly was 
contracted on the platform at the east front of the Capitol, 
where he participated in the inaugural ceremonies of the 
President. So violent was the attack that ended this noble 
life that outside of his family and intimate friends few people 
were aware of his illness until the .sad news of his death was 
announced. I recall the sad incident where at m>- own home, 
at a formal dinner party at which he was to have been the 



Address of Mr. Clark, of Montana ■^J 

guest of honor, while waiting for his arrival the first tidings of 
his serious illness came unexpectedly to all present and cast 
a gloom upon the festivities of the occasion. 

We all recollect the sad and impressive funeral ceremonies 
which took place in this Chamber. The universal expressions 
of sorrow from all pre.sent denoted the confidence, respect, and 
love which dwelt in the minds and hearts of all who knew him. 
He was so unostentatious that it required an intimate knowl- 
edge of the man to know and appreciate his noble impulses 
and sterling qualities. To him anything suggestive of insin- 
cerity, duplicity, or mendacity was abominable. Purity of 
thought and speech was characteristic of his daily intercourse 
with his fellow-men. He led the life of a Christian, in all 
respects correct and consistent, and in his social life he was 
most genial, companionable, and hospitable. He was never so 
happv as when surrounded by his family and intimate friends ; 
he and his charming wife, whom all who know her respect and 
love, dispensed so royally the well-known hospitality of their 
home. 

In the committees on which he served he was distinguished 
for prompt attendance and diligent study of all the questions 
presented for consideration and intelligent discussion of the 
same. His fearless defense and advocacy of what he conceived 
to be right, his unflinching integrity of purpose and action, 
were known to all with whom he came in contact. In his 
advocacy of any question and presentation of argumeiU he was 
always clear and forceful. As minority leader in opposition to 
the bill pending for the joint statehood of Arizona and New 
Mexico he made a remarkable record, which clearly established 
his ability to cope with the most adroit masters of parliamen- 
tary practice. His speech in that memorable contest was a 
masterful effort, and its peroration, brilliant and patriotic, was 



38 Memorial Addresses: Ullliam B. Bate 

accorded the highest acclamation and praise. The defeat of 
the measure, largely due to his aljle efforts, was one of the 
greate.st triumphs in his political life. 

lu review of the wonderful achievements of the great char- 
acter whose memory we revere and honor to-day we are car- 
ried back to the events embracing a period of nearly half a 
century, when he took an acti\e part in the thrilling events of 
the civil war. This was not his first military experience. 
When only a l>oy, acting as a clerk on a steamljoal, he eidisted 
in a Louisiana company and .served with distinction in the war 
with Mexico, where, for gallant .service, he was promoted to a 
lieutenancy. Upon the close of the war he returned to Ten- 
nes,see and embarked first in the field of journalism, then 
studied law and entered the political arena, and the day fol- 
lowing the firing on Fort Sumter found him enlisting as a 
private in Company I, Second Tennessee Infantry. I leave to 
others more familiar with his life and more capable of elo- 
quently describing his military career that interesting and 
deli^ditful theme. His rapid rise and promotion for gallantry 
and bravery from a private to a major-generalship ; the story 
of his almost constant engagement in battle throughout the 
entire period of the war; his frecjuent wounds and narrow 
escapes, having had three horses killed under him in one bat- 
tle ; his persistence in fighting when phy.sically disabled : his 
reluctance to yield at last when the cause so dear to iiis heart 
was absolutely hopele.ss — all comjjrise a record of Spartan valor 
and heroism that is unsurpa.ssed , if not unparalleled, in the 
world's most famous contests, and can not fail to elicit the 
most profound admiration of all who will read it. 

The people of his State recognized his ability, his patriotism 
and devotion to their intere.sts, and honored him twice with an 
election as chief executive of the State, and four times they 



Address of Mr. Clark, of Montana 39 

honored him with election to the United States Senate. All 
these honors were richly deserved, and the State of Tennessee 
proudly and gratefully bestowed them in recognition of the 
splendid achievements and \'alorous service of her noble son, 
William Brijiage Bate, the loyal citizen, the brilliant 
soldier, the honored statesman. 



40 Memorial Addresses: ]]'iUiain B. Bate 



Address of Mr. Spooner, of Wisconsin 

Mr. President: I dread to mar, as I know I shall by un- 
studied speech, the uniform beauty and appropriateness of the 
addresses which have been delivered here in tribute to the 
memory of vSenator Hate. But I dread more, Mr. President, 
the inference which might l)e drawn fnnn my silence that I am 
indifferent to the memory of one for whom I had profound 
respect and sincere friendship. 

I .served long with Senator B.\te. I came to know him well 
and greatlv to esteem him as the pos.sessor of all the essential 
qualities of genuine manhood. I have heard more in detail to- 
day of his career than I had known. Nothing which has been 
said here of his surpassing devotion and gallantry on fields of 
battle has surprised me. From my knowledge of him he could 
not ha\e been better called by an\- other name than "The 
Indomital)le Bate." 

I never knew a man, Mr. President, with a finer .sen.se of 
fea'lty to the demands of duty, great and small, than charac- 
terized Senator Bate. He was not only of exceptional phy.si- 
cal courage, but of exceptional intrepidity of soul. Brusque 
sometimes, sturd\-, strong fibered, educated in a school of life 
which develops strength of character and manhood, he pos- 
sessed with all his strength and firmness and bluntuess not 
only courtesy — the courtesy of the gentleman of the old .school, 
to use a phrase which means much, for there is no finer gentle- 
man in the world than the gentleman of the old .school— but he 
was withal a man of great tenderness, as all manly men are. 

The bravest are the tenilerest. 
The loving are the daring. 



Address of Mr. Spoon cr, of J(7sro//s/n 41 

His sympathies were easily aroused, and no man resented 
more instantly and with greater spirit the perpetration of a 
wrong upon man, woman, or child than did he. 

If I were to name the element in him which more than all 
things else impressed me, it was an ever-present sense of duty. 
It is impossible to conceive of the slightest con.scious failure in 
the performance of any duty, public, private, or social, in 
Senator Bate's life. 

Mr. President, he loved with inexpressible strength the Com- 
monwealth of Tennessee and her people. He had been brought 
up in a school of thought and in an environment entirely dif- 
ferent in many ways from that in which my youth and early 
manhood were cast. Not unnaturally he belonged to a school 
which construed the Constitution so as to enlarge the rights of 
the States and to minimize what I thought were the powers and 
rights of the General Government. He was not to be criticised 
by me for that, nor would he criticise me for that, for I never 
met a man more tolerant of honest differences of opinion, toler- 
ant of weakness in friend and in foe, but tolerant never of mean- 
ness and littleness in any one. He offered his life — and that is 
the most that any man can offer— many times for a cause in 
which he believed and in which I did not believe. 

But, Mr. President, with all his strength of comradeship and 
of associations, with his firnmess of conviction, apologizing for 
nothitig, repenting of nothing, when he, standing at that de.sk, 
took the oath of a Senator, no man who ever has taken it and 
no man whoever will take it, can take it with a stronger, holier 
purpose to serve in every way to his uttermost the Government 
of the United States than did he. 

He was utterly indifferent to his own comfort, sometimes 
indifferent to his own health and safety, in the discharge of 
duties relatively trifling as a .Senator, because they were duties, 



42 Me»iorial Addresses: William B. Bate 

and he regarded no duty as trifling. He did not look, with all 
his splendid career behind him, upon the National Government 
from anv standpoint of restriction in power other than that 
which he found and which many of us fiiid in the Constitution, 
which he had sworn to support. 

Mr. President, he stood for the rights of the vStates; he stood 
for the rights of the National Government. He stood for 
larger powers in the National Government than he would have 
done thirty years ago, as 1 now stand stronger for the rights of 
the States than I would have done thirty years ago. He knew 
that the National Government was created by the States; that 
every power which it possesses was surrendered \i\ the States ; 
that it pos.sesses none except those which expressly or b\- 
implication were surrendered by the States, and that all the 
powers which the vStates did not surrender the States withheld 
and .still possess. 

He could not, without being a great man, Mr. President, 
have carved out for himself the career which he did in profes- 
sional, in military, and in public life — a career which won him 
the love and admiration of his State and of the South and the 
unfeigned respect and regard of the people of the North. I 
have never allowed this aisle — nor do any of us in the discharge 
of public duty or in judgment of each other — to exist ; and I 
heard the news of the illness and death of Senator Bate with 
the keenest sorrow. 

Mr. President, this may be .said of him, that when he breathed 
his last — and happil\-, he was spared a lingering illness — there 
followed him to his home in Tenne.ssee the re.spect and affec- 
tionate regard of every member of the Senate, and the respect 
which all thoughtful people everywhere cherish for an honest, 
sincere, manly man. who had discharged to the full his duty in 
everv relation of life. 



Adaress of Mi-. Perkins, of California 43 



Address of Mr. Perkins, of California 

Mr. President: In the Senate of the United States the true 
value of a man is soon ascertained. Xot only is a Member 
revealed to his associates, but often, I have no doubt, to him- 
self. Manj- a Senator, I am sure, has here found that he 
possessed abilities and powers that he had only half recog- 
nized, and perhaps some of those qualities on which he had 
prided himself were found to be but weak tools for the work 
that had to be done here. Whatever there is in a man is here 
called into play, and he is judged through what he is shown 
to be, not through what his partial admirers may think he is. 
The character which is attributed to a Senator who has served 
a term, or nearly a term, represents the man himself as far as 
it is possible for associates to truthfully portray the character 
of those whom they know best? 

Senator Bate was one who lost nothing by reason of the 
involuntary- scrutiny to which all of us and all of our acts 
are here subjected. The noble qualities of mind and heart 
which were here shown compelled the most sincere respect ; 
and the confidence which was reposed in his absolute honesty 
and unselfishness was strengthened as the years of his service 
increased in number. By his colleagues on both sides of this 
Chamber he was recognized as representing the very highest 
type of public man. 

Senator Bate came from that part of our country where 
loyalty and personal honor are deser\-edl\- emphasized as 
the two highest virtues of man, public or private. Whatever 
views he might hold, whatever cause he might espouse, it 
was recognized that his po.sition was taken as the result of 



44 Memorial Addresses: W'illiam B. Bate 

impartial consideration and unselfish thoiij^ht, and though 
others might not at all times agree with hiiji, no one could raise 
a question as to his honesty, his conscientiousness, or his integ- 
rity of purpose. His entire career is evidence of the simplicity 
and truth of his noble character. In two wars he exposed 
his life from the sen.se of hightest duty to his people ; and 
his many wounds received on the battlefield proved his energy 
and unshrinking courage in following the path to which that 
duty pointed. 

Brave men in all parts of our country recognize and honor 
bravery wherever found, and to no one should such honor be 
more sincerely given than to Senator Bate. 

Senator B.\TE was of that sturdy stock which carried the 
Revolutionary war to a \ictorious issue. There was inbred in 
him that quality of indomitable courage, that spirit of freedom, 
that determination to maintain at any cost whatever he believed 
to be right, which was the .strength of the armies which fought 
under Washington and which won for us political libert>-. It 
was this stock which gave to the people west of the Cumber- 
land Mountains the characteristic virtues which they possess 
to-day. Senator Bate posse.s.sed them all in a marked degree ; 
and they compelled him early to attain, and in all his later life 
to maintain, a leading position in the State which he made his 
home, whose people had so honored him again and again by 
electing him as their repie.sentative in the highest legislative 
body in the land- 

His public spirit forced him into politics while he was yet 
young, and until his death he was more or less in public life. 
Fortunate is he who in .so long and active a career can create 
such a record for unselfish devotion to the public welfare. For 
many years one of the mo.st prominent and mo,st trusted leaders 
of his party in Tenne.ssee, he at last became go\-ernor, which 



Address of Mr. Perkins, of California 45 

office he administered for two terms to the lasting benefit of 
his State and with honor and credit to himself. From the 
governor's chair he came to the United vStates Senate, and here 
he found the opportunity to round out a most useful and hon- 
orable life. His honest>', courage, and ability were at once 
recognized, and he became one of the members of this body 
who had to be reckoned with on all important occasions. 
Vigilant and active, no matter of moment escaped him. 

As chairman of the great Committee on Military Affairs he 
evinced a breadth of view and grasp of detail that showed him 
to be one of the most efficient of legislators. And on other 
important committees of which he was a member his influence 
was felt as a force. In all public questions it was the greatest 
good to the greatest number at which he aimed, and to him we 
owe some of our most useful legislation. The Department of 
Agriculture, as at present constituted, is due principall>- to his 
efforts, and it was through him that the Weather Bureau was 
transferred from the War Department to the Department of 
Agriculture and divorced from the Signal Service, which has 
enabled its development to be effected until it has attained its 
present high state of efficiency. It was through his efforts 
that the so-called " force bill" was defeated, and in the debates 
on that measure, against which the whole .strength of his man- 
hood protested. Senator Bate delivered .some of the strongest 
and most eloquent speeches ever heard in this Chamber. It 
was through him, also, that all laws providing for Federal 
supervision of elections were repealed, thus restoring to the 
people he loved .so well the status from lack of which they had 
so long suffered. This great work was of incalculaljle benefit 
to our entire country, for through its means sectionalism was 
destroyed and the United States became at last and in fact one 
and indivisible. No service could be greater than this. 



46 Memorial Addresses: WiUiani B. Bate 

On an occasion similar to this Senator Batp: said here, iu 

reference to a deceased colleague: 

In our civil war citizens of the same Commonwealth were impelled by 
that first and supreme necessity that is not chosen, but chooses; which is 
paramount to all deliberation and admits of no discussion and demai. 's 
no evidence. Thev were forced mto conflict by the operation of princi- 
ples they did not originate and by circumstances over which they had no 
control. And now, since both sides, from their respective standpoints, 
believed they were in the right, let us on occasions like this, in this 
national forum, common in representation of all .sections and all parties, 
bring wreaths to the " bivouac of the dead " without stopping to discuss 
the resolutions of '98 or the conditions which they createil, or the wisdom 
or folly which inspired on the other side the spirit of fanaticism. Be our 
politics what they may, let us all honor the brave and heroic sons of all 
the States as models and exemplars of American character ; and, since 
"grim visaged war has smoothed his wrinkled front," let us honor those 
who were heroes in the strife with true American i)atriotisni and pride. 

We and the entire country can not only honor him who was 
a "hero in the strife" for his manline.ss, devotion, and hero- 
ism, but we can and do honor him with true American pride 
for the dex-otion and patriotism he has shown in this Chamber 
and for the example he has here set for all who love their 
country. 

I was honored, Mr. Pre.sident, by his personal friendship and 
received great benefit from his wise counsel. I owe hiin a debt 
of gratitude that can never be repaid. So, in this tribute to his 
memory, I may well say that he has left us a splendid legacy, 
and if we profit by his example we shall all be l)etter men and 
better citizens of this now happy and united country. 

Throughout his long life Senator B.\TE demonstrated that 
his ambition was the highest that can actuate man — an ambi- 
tion to do his full duty as he understood it, not only to those 
immediately surrounding him but to all mankind. In this no 
thought of self appeared, and personal advantage, position, or 
the acquisition of wealth had no place in his scheme of life. 
When he died he left no great fortune to his bereaved widow 



Address of Mr. Perkins^ of California 47 

and his children, but he did leave them wliat is of far greater 
value — an untarnished reputation; and I am sure that the 
members of his family in Tennessee and California — for some 
of them reside there — will guard and cherish this priceless 
legacy. In his case it is most clearly shown that a good name 
is better than great riches; and that can be bequeathed to his 
descendants by every man who will accept the precepts and 
follow the example of General Bate, the soldier and the states- 
man. As has been so well said of another who died upon the 
field of duty, we can say in memory of our departed colleague 
and friend: 

When a star i.s quenched on high, 

For ages will its light 
Still travel downward from the sky, 

Shine on our mortal sight. 
So when a good man dies. 
For years beyond our ken 
< The light he leaves behind him lies 

Upon the path of men. 



Memorial Addresses : \Villia»i B. Bate 



Address of Mr. Frazier, of Tennessee 

Mr. President: Tlie .Senate of the United States has paused 
to-day in the (Hscharse of its higli and responsible duties to 
the people of this great nation to pay fittiiiK and deser\-ed 
tribute to the memory and character of a distinguished son 
of Tennessee. 

Mr. President, in this mercenary age, when the minds of 
men seem to be .so deeply absorbed in the problem of how 
money maj' be gotten and riches acquired, it is a rehef and 
a .solace to l)e able to study the character and honor the 
memory of one who devoted a long life of unceasing labor 
and unwavering fidelity to the service of the people. 

William B. B.\te, late a Senator of the United States, 
representing in this Chamber the .State of Tennessee, was 
born October 7, 1826, in Sumner County of that State. He 
died in the city of Washington on March y, 1905, thus lack- 
ing only a few months of having reached the ripe old age of 
fourscore years. 

For more than half a century the name of William B. 
Bate has been familiar to ever3- household in Tennessee, 
and in all his long and eventful career his influence has 
been potent for good. Few of the .sons of Tennessee — and 
the State has been fruitful and rich in great men — have .so 
universally commanded the respect and confidence of all the 
people as Senator Bate. Even his political enemies accorded 
him the just met;d of praise due to the highest integrity, 
honesty of purpose, and purity of life. The people of Ten- 
ne.ssee honored him as they have honored few of its citizens. 
He served the State long and faithfully. Once a member of 



Address of Mr. Frazier^ of Tennessee 49 

the legislature, once attorney-geueral of his district, a soldier 
in the Mexican war, and again for four 3'ears a soldier iu 
the civil war, twice Presidential elector, twice governor, and 
four times in succession elected to the Senate of the United 
States. 

Every honor which the people of Tennessee had to bestow 
they freely gave to him, and his fidelity to each and every trust 
but proved that their confidence was not misplaced. 

He died at his post of duty just as he was entering upon his 
fourth term in the Senate. Others may have .ser\'ed the State 
longer in .some particular place; others may have made greater 
impress in certain fields of endeavor, but few have served the 
State in more ways and none with greater fidelity than Senator 
William B. Bate. 

He sprang from the body of the common people. Like so 
many others in the American Republic who have acheived fame 
and won renown, he had no noble ancestry to boa.st of, but 
he had that which in this land of equality of opportunity was 
far better — he had a scjund body, robust intellect, the highest 
courage, rugged honesty, and a worthy ambition to serve his 
fellowmen. 

His birthplace was in the rich, beautiful, and fertile basin of 
middle Tennessee, and in sight of the old fort overlooking 
"Bledsoe's L,ick," famous in the early .settlement of the State 
as the scene of many fierce and bloody encounters between the 
red men and the daring pioneers, who braved the dangers of 
an unexplored wilderne.ss and the .savage foe to carr^' the van- 
guard of civilization across the Cumberland Mountains on its 
westward course and plant it on the tributaries of the Missis- 
sippi River. 

Senator Bate sprang from that sturdy stock of virtuous and 
liberty-loving people, whose restless and adventurous spirit led 
them to seek a home in the wilderne.ss. 
S. Doc. 403, 59-2—07 4 



50 Memorial Addrrssc} : U'illiaiu B. Bate 

They came armed with the rifle, the axe, and the Bible, sus- 
tained by a brave and self-reHant manhood. They came to 
clear the forest, to plant the iield, to build homes, and lay 
the foundations of orderly government. They came deter- 
mined to carve out of the wilderness, by the strength of their 
own right arms and brave hearts, an abiding place and to erect 
for them.selves and their posterity a commonwealth, in which 
there should be guaranteed to all, to high and low alike, free- 
dom of the person, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and 
freedom of the press. 

They were brave, hardy, and adventurous, but the}' believed 
in individual freedom. They believed in them.sel\'es and they 
believed in Ck)d. They liad the American genius for .state 
making. They were prominent as conunonwealth builders. 

From such an ancestry Senator B.\TE inherited and early 
imbibed that toughness of moral fiber and strength of character 
which, througli a long life of pul)lic service, no temptation 
could e\er weaken or impair. He was not born with a silver 
spoon. He had the good fortune of havuig inherited honest 
poverty and of being forced, in his youth, to luidergo tho.se 
hardships and privations which are so conducive to the forma- 
tion of a strong and manly character. 

He had the further blessing of having lieen born and raised 
on a farm, that fruitful nursery of great men, and to its hard- 
ships and struggles can be attributed in no small degree that 
physical endurance, moral strength, and intellectual force 
which marked his after life. 

For an American l)oy to have been born and reared on the 
farm, where, in field and forest and by river, he can study and 
comnuuie with nature and have stimulated within him a pro- 
found reverence for the grandeur of the universe and the 
divinity of God, is a blessing. To be denied it is a distinct and 
positive loss. 



Address of Mr. Frasier, of Tennessee 51 

From the farm, that cradle from which has come so many of 
the nation's strong and forceful men, he was early forced out 
into the great world to meet and compete with his fellowmen. 

His father died when he was a youth of 15 years of age, and 
he was left without the help and guidance of his parental care. 

His early training was thus left to his widowed mother, and 
so strong was the imprint of this noble Christian woman 
impressed upon him that when in after years he decided to 
openly attach himself to the church, with a sentiment that was 
as tender as it was lieautiful he went back to the old home, 
sought out and joined the church in which his mother had 
lived and died, and was baptized in the same crystal stream in 
which, more than three-quarters of a century before, she had 
been baptized. 

For a few years he continued to work on the farm and at 
intervals to attend the old field school, with its house built of 
logs, whose curriculum, though circumscribed by the limited 
learning of its stern preceptor, was generally enough to sow 
the seed of knowledge and virtue that in the fullness of time 
would ripen into strong and vigorous manhood and character. 

But the ambitious .spirit of this farmer boy chafed under its 
narrow limitations, and he longed for a vAA<tx field of enter- 
prise and endeavor. His first employment after he left the 
farm and home to go out into the world to meet his fellows in 
the fierce struggles and competitions of life, in which he was 
destined to win success and honor and fame, was as a clerk on 
a steamboat then plying between Nashville and New Orleans. 
He was in the latter city when war broke out between the 
United States and Mexico over the young and struggling 
Republic of Texas. His chivalric soul was fired with the story 
of that self -exiled Tennessean, Gen. vSam Houston, who had 
so mysteriously resigned the high office of governor of Ten- 



1^2 Memorial Addresses: M'illiajii B. Bate 

iiessee and left his native State to win immortal fame at San 
Jacinto and found a new republic in the far-distant southwest, 
and at the heroic de\'otion and unparalleled courage of another 
Tennessean, Davy Crockett, whose sacrificial blood at the 
Alamo was to water the patriotic seed that should grow and 
ripen into the Lone Star State of Texas. 

Burning with a martial spirit, young Bate promptly 
enlisted in a Louisiana regiment, and was thus the first Ten- 
nessean to reach the seat of war on the Mexican border. 

He afterwards joined a Tenne.s.see regiment and was made 
a lieutenant and participated with gallantry and distinction in 
most of the great battles of that war. He won merited 
distinction in war before he attained his majority. 

At the close of the Mexican war he returned to his home 
in Sunnier County, Tenn., and again began work upon the 
farm. He .soon thereafter established a weekly paper at 
Gallatin, with the martial title of "The Tenth Legion." 
That paper was Democratic in politics, and was well and 
ably edited by its youthful proprietor. 

Soon after attaining the age of 2 1 he became a candidate for 
the legislature from his native county, and after a spirited con- 
test with older and better-known men he was elected and served 
the term with credit. In 1850 he determined to adopt the law 
as his profession. He thereupon .sold his paper and entered 
the law school at Lebanon, Tenn., an institution widely known 
in the South, and from which many great lawyers of great 
ability and distinction and many statesmen of renown have 
graduated. He graduated in 1852, and at once began the prac- 
tice of law at Gallatin, in his native county. His success was 
rapid and marked. 

In 1854 he was elected attorney-general of the judicial dis- 
trict in which Nashville, the capital of the State, was situated. 



Address of Mr. Fra^icr, of Tennessee 53 

He held that office for a full term of six years and declined a 
reelection which was offered him. He discharged the onerous 
and trjang duties of the office with such marked ability and 
zeal that his reputation as a sound lawyer and vigorous advo- 
cate extended beyond his district and were recognized through- 
out the State. 

In i860 he was placed upon the Breckinridge and Lane elec- 
toral ticket and canvassed his district. By the ability 'and 
eloquence displayed in that canvass he came to be recognized by 
the Democratic party of the State as one of its most zealous 
and able advocates. With the election of Mr. Lincoln to the 
Presidency the clouds of civil war began to gather. 

By education and training and environment Senator Bate 
was a strict constructionist of the Constitution. He was a firm 
behever in the doctrine that a sovereign State, which had volun- 
tarily entered into the Union had a right, when in its judgment 
the constitutional compact was broken, to peacefully withdraw 
from the Union. 

To him the civil conflict came as the only means of settling 
what he regarded as a great and fundamental constitutional 
question. He had no doubts, no misgivings as to the correctness 
of his position. He believed in the sovereignty of the State 
and in its necessary resultant, the right of secession, with all 
his heart, and acting on that belief, and actuated by the purest 
motives, and moved by the highest and most unselfish devotion 
to duty and to country as he saw that duty, the day after the 
first gun of the great fratricidal .struggle was fired at Sumter 
he enlisted as a private in the Confederate .service. 

He was rapidly promoted to captain and to colonel, and in 
May, 1861, marched at the head of his regiment to the seat of 
war in Virginia. He, with his regiment, participated in the 
battle of Bull Run, where he and his gallant men received their 



54 Mcuiorial Addresses: M'iUiam B. Bate 

baptism of fire. In that first great battle of the civil war he 
displayed that dash and courage that marked his whole mili- 
tary career. In February. 1862, the time of enlistment of him- 
self and his men having expired, he appealed with such fer\'or 
to tlieir pride and patriotism and manhood that his entire regi- 
ment reenlisted "for the war." His was the first regiment to 
display such devotion to the cau.se, and its example was 
inspiring to the whole army. 

So much was this conduct of Colonel B.\tk and his regiment 
appreciated by the Confederate authorities at Richmond that 
they were given a .sixty days' furlough, and Colonel Bate W'as 
allowed to choose the army with which he would thereafter 
serve. He selected the Army of Tennes.see, then in command 
of the gallant and gifted Gen. Albert vSidney Johnston. In the 
history of warfare there has .seldom been exhibited a more im- 
.selfish and heroic de\-otion to a cause than was displayed by 
Colonel Bate and his regiment of gallant Tenuesseans, when 
just preceding the great battle of Shiloh, at the call of their 
colonel, with unexpired furloughs .still in their pockets, they 
met at the appointed place, re-formed, and moved forward to 
join the army in front on the eve of that noted battle, and were 
among the first to receive the fire of General Grant's legions at 
the opening of the battle of Shiloh. 

On that memorable field of blood and carnage Colonel Bate 
had his horse killed under him and was himself severeh' 
wountled. In that fearful carnage his brother and two others 
of his kindred were killed, and still another wounded. Si> that 
out of one family there lay upon that bloody field near the old 
Shiloh Chtu'ch five members, three dead and two wounded, a 
scene scarcely paralleled in the annals of warfare. 

For gallautrj' at the battle of Shiloh Colonel Bate was com- 
missioned by President Jefferson Davis brigadier-general. 



Address of Mr. Frazicr^ of Tennessee 55 

From Shiloh to Murfreesboro, Cliickainauga, Missionary 
Ridge, north Georgia, around Atlanta, at Franklin and Nash- 
ville, in the manj- great battles fought by the Army of the 
Tennessee, General Bate was a conspicuous and distinguished 
figure, at his post of dut}- even when his unhealed wounds 
forced him to use his crutches. Always dashing, gallant, and 
cotirageous, he won from General Stewart the soubriquet of 
"The Indomitable Bate." 

Through all those four years of suffering and hardships, of 
dangers and defeats. General B.vte never once faltered or 
wavered; never once lost faith in himself, the courage and 
fidelity of his men, nor the justue.ss of his cause. 

He surrendered the shattered remnant of his division at 
Bentonville, N. C, only after it was known to all that the 
cause for which he had so gallantly fought and suffered was 
lost and further fighting was not only folly, but criminal mad- 
ness. When the end came, and the Stars and Bars, which he 
had followed in victory and defeat with such unselfish devotion, 
was furled for the last time, with a spirit of frank and manly 
patriotism he accepted as final and conclusi\e every fair and 
legitimate result of the war. The issue had been submitted 
to the stern arbitrament of the sword; the decision had been 
against him. He accepted the result as a brave .soldier and a 
true patriot should. He made no apologies for the past. He 
cherished no anamosities for the futtu'e. 

Like hundreds and thousands of others who had worn the 
gray in that terrible conflict, he said, " Let the dead pa.st bury 
its dead." Not forgetting the glories and the sacrifices of the 
past, they turned their faces to the future and laying hold of 
the new and difficult problems that were pressed upon them 
they have helped to build here a greater, a richer, and a freer 
republic in one than could have lived upon this continent if 
divided into two. 



56 Memorial Addresses: ]\'illia))i B. Bate 

General Bate returned to lais lionie poor, wounded, and 
limping. He found his State devastated, homes destroyed, 
industries paralyzed, the labor system on which the South's 
wealth had depended not only disori^anized, Init, as a system, 
utterly destroyed. The slave had been freed, but the black 
man remained, and with him a problem unparalleled in its 
difficulties. To reorganize his State and bring it again into 
harmony with the other States of the I'nion, to revive old 
industries and construct new ones, to build up the waste 
places, to readjust society, and to reorganize labor and adapt it 
to the new and changed conditions which had come as the 
war's inevitable consequence were- problems which demanded 
the highest .statesmanship and most patient conservatism. 

General Bate saw and accepted the situation — the inevita- 
ble — and with the truest patriotism addres.sed himself to the 
just and peaceful solution of these large and difficult problems. 
He did his full duty as a citizen to bring peace and order out 
of chaos. He advi-sed his comrades in arms to turn their faces 
to the future and to devote their energies to rebuilding their 
shattered fortunes. 

After the surrender in 1 865 General Bate resumed the prac- 
tice of law at Nashville and continued in active and succe.ssful 
practice till i!SS2, when he was nominated and elected governor 
of Tennessee. He was again elected in 18S4, and served his 
State in that high office for two full terms with marked distinc- 
tion and ability. In 1887 he was elected to the United States 
Senate, where he continued to repre.sent his State by succes.sive 
elections till the day of his death. He had just entered upon 
his fourth term when he died. Of his .services here I need not 
speak, as others who .served with him and knew and appre- 
ciated his honesty and fidelity to duty have done so. 

Senator Bate was no ordiuar\' man. When we see him a 



Address of Mr. Frmier^ of Tninessee 57 

poor, fatherless plowboy at 15, with meager educational advan- 
tages and no extraneous influences to aid him, by dint of his 
own laborious eiTorts and solid worth rise step by step until he 
became a major-general in the greatest war of modern times, 
the chief executive of his State, and an honored and respected 
member in the highest legislative council of the greatest nation 
of the world, we must confess that there was somewhere in the 
man some uplifting force that made him great and strong. 
Where lies the hidden spring, the secret power? 

From long and, I confess, a not impartial study of Senator 
Bate as a man, citizen, soldier, and public official my firm 
belief is that the. key to his character, the mainspring of his 
success in life, are to be found in hrs honesty and fidelity. 

Senator Bate was an absolutely honest man. He never owed 
any man a debt that he did not pay. He never took from any 
man a dollar that he did not believe was justly his. He was 
not only honest in the narrow commercial .sense of fidelity to 
every financial obligation, but in the higher and broader rela- 
tions of life. In dealing with his fellow-men, in business, in 
politics, in every relation of life, he was always frank, straight- 
forward, and honest. 

His word was as good as his bond, with security. Direct, 
resolute, .sometimes stern even to abruptne.ss, he created en- 
mities and was often maligned; but no man ever successfully 
maintained the charge that he failed to meet an obligation or 
to keep faith with any one of his fellow-men. 

Careful, cautious, even slow to make up his mind and incur 
an obhgation or to espouse a cause, when Senator Bate's word 
was once given he to whom it was given might go his way in 
peace, with absolute faith that that word would be made good 
at any sacrifice. Senator Bate's fidelity to duty was not less 
marked than his honesty in dealing and in purpose. 



5^ Memorial Addresses: ]\'illiain B. Bate 

In every walk of life, from musket bearer to division com- 
mander, from steamboat clerk to governor's chair and Senator's 
seat, his fidelit\' to every trvist was stern, unyielding, Spartau. 
From the ])ath of duty as he saw it, from fidelity to those who 
trusted him, no threat or danger could drive him, no temptation 
could allure him. He stood always firm and uncompromising 
for the right, as his faith and his conscience pointed the way. 

Faitli in himself and the justness and purity of his motives 
and fidelity to obligations and to duty made him strong and 
forceful in the accompli.shment of his purposes. He was as 
faithful to principle as to personal obligation. He deserted no 
cause which he had espou.sed. He compromised no principle 
in which he believed. Convinced that the States had a right 
under the Constitution to secede, and that they had sufficient 
cause to justify the act, he unhesitatingly Ijared his bosom and 
ri.sked his life and was ready to sacrifice his all for the main- 
tenance of that principle. A Democrat and a strict con.struc- 
tioni.st of the Constitution on principle, no question of personal 
gain or popularity or of party exigency ever caused him to 
waver in his fidelty to that principle. He believed his con- 
struction of the Constitution was right, and from it he never 
swerved. He never wavered in his fidelity to truth as he saw 
it, to duty as it was given to him to understand it, to the 
Constitution ashe interpreted it. 

He had faith in and a deep-seated love for our form of gov- 
ernment. He had faith in the people and never doubted their 
capacity' for self-government. He trusted the people. The 
people trusted him. There were others to whose brilliancy 
of speech or boldness of achievement the people may have 
accorded a higher admiration, but there was none in whcse 
fidelity to duty and honesty of purpose the masses of the peo- 
ple reposed a sublimer faith. Senator Bate was faithful to 



Address of Mr. Frazicr, of Tciiucsscc 59 

every trust. No .son of Tenne.s.see ever bowed hi.s head in 
shame because he was unfaithful to obhgation or to duty. 

While he was their servant the people went quietly to their 
fields, to their shops, to their several avocations, knowing that 
he who bore their high commission in the council of the nation 
was as faithful to duty as the needle to the pole, as pure in 
life as the translucent waters that flow through the verdant 
valleys, and as firm in character as the everlasting mountains, 
of his native State. My father's friend, I can not remember 
the time when I did not know vSeuator B.\te. I was taught 
to honor and respect him ; his friendship and fidelity made me 
love him. I sought his counsel. I was guided by his wisdom. 
His last official act was to dictate and sign a letter to me on 
the day before his death. It was the last time he ever signed 
his name, and so firmly was his hand held in the grip of death 
that the name is scarcely legible. It related to the disposition 
of the Confederate flags, ordered returned to the States by a 
resolution of Congress, about which, as governor, I had asked 
his advice — the old, tattered banners, only representing a lost 
cause, a sentiment, if you please ; but to him, even in his hour 
of dissolution, it was the Cross of vSt. Andrew, under whose 
stainless folds he had charged to victory and to glory. 

Mr. President, the upright citizen, the pure patriot, Senator 
William B Bate, whose long and eventful life was devoted 
to his country's welfare, was faithful to the end. He died at 
his post of duty. He sleeps beneath the blue-grass sod of his 
native State, which he served so long and loved so well. Peace 
be to his ashes and honor to his memory. 



6o Memorial .IiMnssrs: William B. Bate 

FUKTIIKR ACTION OF THE SENATE. 

At the close of his address Mr. Frazier said: 

Mr. President, I ask for the adoption of the re.solution I 
send to the desk. 

The Vice-President. The Senator from Tennessee pro- 
poses a resolution, which will be read by the Secretary. 

The Secretary read the resolution, as follows: 

h'cioli-cd . Tliat as a further mark of respect to the inemory of the 
deceased the Senate do now adjourn. 

The resolution was unanimously agreed to; and (at 4 

o'clock and 33 minutes ]>. ni. ) the Senate adjourned until 

to-morrow, Friday, January 18, 1907, at 12 o'clock meridian. 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE 



Saturdav, Pect'mber 75. igo6. 

Mr. Gaines of Tennessee. Mr. Sjieaker, I ask nnaniniuns 
con.sent for the present consideration of the order which I send 
to the Clerk's de.sk. 

The Speaker. The gentleman from Tennessee asks tniani- 
mons consent for the present consideration of a resolntion, 
which will be reported by the Clerk. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Ordered, That Sunday, January 2", 1907, at i o'clock, be set apart for 
addresses on the life, character, and public service of Hon. \Vii,i,i.\M B. 
Bate, late a Senator from the State of Tennessee. 

The resolution was agreed to. 

Wednesday, ya«/^a/:r 16. igoj. 

Mr. Gaines of Tennes.see. Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous 
con.sent that the Hou.se change the hour for holding the memo- 
rial ser\'ice in the memory of the late Senator Bath, from 
I o'clock p. m. next Sunday to 2 o'clock the same day. 

The Speaker. Is there objection? 

There was no objection. 

Saturday, Jn>iuary ig, rgoj. 

The Speaker. Without objection, the gentleman from Ten- 
nessee [Mr. Sims] will act as Speaker during the services in 
memory of the late Senator Bate to be held to-morrow. 

There was no objection. 



62 Memorial Addresses: William P. Bate 

Sunday, January 20, igoy. 

The House met at 2 o'clock p. m., and was called to order by 
Hon. Thetus \V. Sims, of Tennessee, Speaker pro tempore. 

The Chaplain, Rev. Henrj- N. Couden, D. D., oiTered the 
following praA'er: 

Infinite Spirit, Father of all souls, we bless and adore Thy 
holy name for Thy goodness and for Thy wonderful works to ' 
the children of men. Especially do we thank Thee for the pure, 
the noble, the true, the great men whom Thou hast raised up 
in every age of the world's hi.story as beacon lights to guide 
their successive generations onward and upward to higher 
civilization. We are here to-day to commemorate the life and 
character of such a man, one who by dint of his devotion to 
dutv rose step by step to eminence and leadership; a soldier 
brave and valiant in two wars; a student ever seeking truth; 
a statesman working for the good of his countrymen. We bless 
Thee for what he did, yet more for what he was. His char- 
acter will live and be a .special guide to those who shall come 
after him to high living and to noble life. Bless and comfort, 
we pray Thee, the bereaved, those who mourn his loss. A lov- 
ing father, a faithful husband, a dutiful son, beautiful in his 
devotion to his mother, seeking religion at the .same altar where 
she worshiped, baptized in the same stream where she was 
baptized, living always near to Thee. O God, we pray Thee 
to comfort the living with the blessed hope that some time, 
somewhere, they will go to him and dwell forever in his pres- 
ence. And peans of praise we will ever give to Thee. In Jesus 
Christ, our Lord. Amen. 

Mr. Gaines of Tennes.see. Mr. Speaker, I ask the adoption 
of the resolutions which I .send to the Clerk's desk. 
The Clerk read as follows: 

Rcsoli'fd, That in punsuance of the special order heretofore adopted, 
tlie Ho\ise proceed to pay tribute to the memory of the Hon. W. B. BATE, 
late Senator from the State of Tennessee. 



Proceedings in the House 63 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the memory of the 
deceased and in recognition of his distinguished career and his great 
service to his country as a United States Senator, the House, at the con- 
clusion of the memorial proceedings of this day, shall stand adjourned. 

Resolved, That the Clerk of the House communicate these resolutions 
to the Senate. 

Resolved, That the Clerk of the House be, and he is hereby, instructed 
to send a copy of these resolutions to the family of the deceased. 

The resolutions were unanimously agreed to. 

Mr. Houston. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
those Members who are absent and unable to be present and 
speak to-day maj' have leave to print remarks in the Record 
on the life and character of the late Senator Bate, and those 
who speak maj' extend their remarks, if they so desire. 

The Speaker. Without objection, the request of the gentle- 
man from Tennessee will be agreed to. 

There was no objection. 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



Address of Mk. Gaines, of Tennessee 

Mr. Speaker: William Bkimack Bate was born Octo- 
ber 7, 1826, near Bledsoe Lick, CastaHan vSprings, Sumner 
County, Tenn., and died March 9, 1905, at 6 a. m., in his 
apartments, Ebbitt House, Washington, I). C, having onh' 
a few days before, for the fourth time, taken the oath as 
Senator from the State of Tennessee, 

He received his early education in a school, known then 
as "Rural Academy," near his birthplace. Between .sessions 
he worked on the farm. His father, James H. Bate, a pioneer, 
died when this son was aljout 15 years of age. Of these pio- 
neers Gen. Andrew Jackson .says: 

.\ mail who is born and reared among.st this people deserves hut little 
credit for being a .soldier and a gentleman, for he can't help it. 

Senator Bate was both. 

After the death of his father, young B.\te continued to 
work on the farm and attend the country school for abotit 
two years, when he sought a wider field of action, and next 
we hear of him employed as a ".second clerk" on the Sa/ad//i. 
a boat plying the Cumberland and Mississippi rivers between 
Nashville, Tenn., and New Orleans. He was thus employed 
when this boat, in 1846, collided with and sank the Co>ti;n-ss 
on the Mi.ssis.sippi River near Washington Point. 

When the Mexican war began with the United States^ he 
was in New Orleans, where, May 15, 1846, he joined the 
S. Doc. 403, 59-2—07 5 (>S 



66 Memorial Addresses: IVillinni B. Bate 

army of his nati\'e country to serve six months, which he 
did, and was "honorably mustered out at New Orleans Au- 
gust 14, 1S46, with his regiment and company." The press 
states that he ivas the first Tennesseean to reach the scene 
of hostilities. 

On October 2, 1.S47, at Nashville, Tenn., he reentered the 
"service, returned to Mexico, did his dut>' well, and was 
again honorably mustered out at Memphis, Tenn., July 22, 
184S, with his regiment and company." 

Desiring to get, if possible, correct information of at least 
the main features of his military record, my request for this 
intelligence was promptly honored by the War Department, 
through its very efficient Military Secretary-, as shown by the 
following correspondence : 

War Department, 
The Military Si-xretarv's Office, 

]\\isbi)ii;tou, June /C\ /go6. 
Hon. John W. Gaines, 

House of Rcprrsfntatii'i-s. 
Dear Sir : In compliance with the request contained in your letter of 
the 14th instant, I have the honor to transinit herewith a statement of 
the military service of the late Senator William B. Bate. 
Very respectfully, 

1". C. .^INSWORTH, 

r/n- Military Secretary. 

STATEMENT OF THE MILITARY SERVICE OF WILLIAM H. BATE, WAR 
WITH MEXICO. 

William B. Bate was mu.stere(i into the service of the United States 
at New Orleans, La., May 15, 1846, as a sergeant in Company F, Fourth 
Louisiana Infantry, to serve six months. The regiment arrived at Brazos 
Santiago May 26, 1846, and at Lomita, Mexico, June 4, 1S46. He was 
honorably mustered out of service with his company and regiment as a 
private at New Orleans, La., August 14, 1S46. 

He reentered the service at Nashville, Tenn., October 2, 1S47, as a 
private in Company I, Third Tennessee Infantry, commanded by Col. 
Benjamin F. Cheatham, to serve during the war, and was promoted to be 
first lieutenant of the same company October 8, 1S47. He accompanied 



Address of Mr. Gaines., of Tennessee 67 

his regiment to Mexico, in which country it was stationed at the City of 
Mexico, Veracru?., Jalappa, Puebla, and JMolino del Rev. Returninfi to 
the United States, he was honorably mustered out with his company and 
regiment at Memphis, Tenn., July 22, 1.S4S. 

We see, when his country no longer needed his military 
services, he returned to the civic circle of life and established 
and edited at Crallatin, Tenn., a weekly newspaper called the 
"Tenth Legion." 

He soon attracted the attention of the people — in fact, 
throughout his life he was their champion. 

When abotit 23 years old he served one term — 1849-50 — 
in the lower hotise of the Tennessee legislature. His cam- 
paign for this office l)ecame historic, and is. with pride, often 
recalled by the old citizens of middle Teiniessee. There were 
nine candidates, but Lieutenant Batk's main competitor was 
the late Gen. George Maney, a gentleman of great nattiral 
ability, scholarly, and a fluent speaker. They were both 
young men of great promise, but the young lieutenant was 
elected. 

Concluding his legislative services, he entered the noted 
Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tenn., from which he grad- 
uated in 1852. He formed a partnership with Maj. George W. 
Winchester, one of Tennessee's most gifted speakers and able 
lawyers, and began the practice of his profession at Gallatin, 
Tenn. Two years thereafter he was elected attorney-general 
for the circuit composed of Davidson, Sumner, and Wilson 
coitnties, and served from 1854 to i860. 

While yet attorney-general he was tendered by the Demo- 
crats the nomination for Congress, but declined the honor and 
served his full term, six years, in the office to wdiich he had 
asked the people to elect him. 

While thus engaged he met at the bar many eminent lawyers 
of middle Tenne.ssee, and particularly at Nashville, Franklin, 
and Gallatin. 



68 Memorial Addn-sses: William />'. Bale 

In speaking of liis rccurcl in this oftice Col. Uaxter Smith, 
an ex-Confederate soldier and ])roniinent la\v\-er of Nashville, 
formerly of Gallatin, who from his Ixiyhood knew General 
Bate, thns writes nie: 

It was clianicteristic of him to bt indefatii^ablc in the jirepuralioti of 
his cases for trial, and with liis kiiowleilgt- of nit-n ami his quick percep- 
tion he was ahvays alile to present the State'.s side of the case in the 
most favorable attitnde. As a resuU he was able to co])e with the most 
distinguislied of lawyers in the many important cases he prosecuted, and 
he went out of the office having added greatly to his reputation. 

General I>.\TK did not pose as, nor was he con.sidered, a 
great law\er, l>tit he was a great advocate and a wonderfully 
successful practitioner. He marshaled the facts of .anil pre- 
sented his case, as he did in his ]:iul:)lic speeches, witli great 
force and effect. Throughout the man's life there was a ring 
of persuasive sincerity in his \'oice that caught the ear; there 
was an appealing sense of justice in his words that tottched 
the hearts of his hearers, whether juries or the people of 
Tennessee, whom he so often addressed. These charming 
characteristics and his nianl\' and chivalric mannerism, with 
the close study that he always ga\-e any subject he discus.sed, 
made him a formidalile antagoni.st at the bar, on the hu.stings, 
and in the Senate of the laiited .States. 

Gn Januar>- 17, 1S56, Lieutenant Batk was married Ko Miss 
Julia Peete, of Huntsville, Ala., who with their two daugh- 
ters, Mrs. Sirsan Bate Childs and Mrs. Ma/.ie Bate Mastin, 
stirvive him. 

General B.\TK was an intense Democrat of the Calhoun 
.school. He was often called on to make political speeches in 
many, if not all. of the stirring cam])aigns that occurred in 
Teiniessee from his advent in pulilic life, which we see began 
when he was about twenty and three years of age. He was 
a candidate in his Congre.ssional di.strict for elector on the 



Address of Mr. Gaines^ of Tennessee 69 

Breckinridge and Lane ticket in i860. His opponent was 
Col. E. I. Gollida}', of Lebanon, Tenn., one of the most elo- 
quent speakers in the State, who afterwards .served as a Mem- 
ber of Congress from the Fourth Congressional district of 
Tennessee. In this campaign Colonel vSmith sa3-s : "General 
Bate acquitted himself as a political speaker with entire 
satisfaction to his friends." 

In 1861. as might have been expected, General Bate cast 
his fortunes of war with his native vState, and was among the 
first Tennesseans to enlist in the Confederate service, and 
went to Virginia. 

Of his Confederate record. General Ainsworth writes me as 
follows : 

WiLLi.^M B. Bate was elected colonel of the Second Tennessee 
Infantry, Provisional Army, May 6, 1861, and was appointed to that 
position by the President of the Confederate States, to take rank .■\pril 27, 
1S61 ; was promoted to be brigadier-general, Provisional Army, ()ctol>er 3, 
1S62, and to major-general. Provisional Army, February 23, 1864. 

From May 26, 1861, to July iS, 1 861, Colonel Bate and his regiment 
performed diity at Fredericksburg, Brookes Station, and other points 
between the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers, in the military depart- 
ment of Fredericksburg, bearing a part in resisting an attack by Union 
naval vessels on the Confederate batteries at Aquia Creek June i, iS6r. Of 
Colonel Bate's service on this occasion Col. Daniel Ruggles, his superior 
commander, says : 

■ The conduct of my entire force, under the connnand of Colonel BaTK, 
of i-lie Walker Legion, until my arrival on the field was admirable 
thi oughout the daj'." 

Another officer, writing from Aquia Creek to the Confederate secretary 
of war, under date of June l, 1S61, says ; 

"Colonel Bate has been assigned the command of the brigade here, 
composed of his own regiment and the Virginia troops present, and is 
working with a zeal consistent with the energy and euthusia.sni of his 
nature." 

The Second Tennessee was on the field of the first battle of Bull Run, 
fought July 21, 1S61, as a part of Brig. ('.en. T. H. Holmes's brigade, but 
it did not become actively engaged with the enemy. Soon afterwards the 
regiment returned to the line of the Potomac and was stationed at Evans- 
port, Va., where it confronted the Union forces, occupying the Maryland 



■JO 



Memorial .Iddrcsscs: ]\'illiai)i B. Bate 



side of the river until February, 1S62. Al)out the middle of that month 
a sufficient number of its members having reenlisted for the war, and 
thus insured the continuation of the organization beyond its first year's 
enlistment, Colonel BaTR conducted the reenlisted men to Tennessee on 
a furlough granted until April I, 1862. 

The regiment was reorganized at Corinth, Miss., April 3, 1862, and, 
under the command of Colonel BATE, participated in the battle of Shiloh, 
Tenn.. April 6, 1S62. General Cleburne, the brigade commander, in his 
official report, refers to the regiment and its connnander as follows : 

"Here the Second Tennessee, coming up on the left, charged through 
a murderous cross fire. The gallant major * * '■ fell mortally 
wounded, and the colonel, \V. B. Bate, had his leg broken by a minie 
ball. Tennessee can never mourn for a nobler band than fell this day 
in her Second Regiment." 

Under date of November 22, 1S62, Oen. Braxton Bragg, commanding 
the .\rmy of Tennessee, reported to the adjutant ami inspector-general, 
Confederate States army, that "Bate and * " are not likely to 

return to field duty for months." On t'ebruary 23, 1.S63, Brigadier- 
General Bate, then in temporary command of the di.strict of the Ten- 
nessee, was assigned to duty with Lieutenant-General Polk's corps and, 
on March 12, 1S63, was placed in command of a brigade in Stewart's 
division. He subsequently bore a part in the Tullahoma campaign, being 
engaged in action at Hoovers Gap, Tennessee, June 24-26, 1S63. He also 
participated, as a brigade commander, in the succeeding campaign of 
Chickamauga. Regarding his services in the battle of Chickamauga, 
September 19 and 20, 1863, General Stewart, the division connnander, 
says ; 

" I desire to express my high appreciation of Brigadier-Generals Brown, 
Bate, and Clayton, and of their respective commands. Representing the 
three States of Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee, they vied with each 
other in deeds of high and noble daring. The Confederacy has nowhere 
braver defenders led by more .skillful commanders." 

He continued to command a brigade in the ensuing Chattanooga- 
Ringgold campaign until November 19, 1863, on which date, by virtue 
of seniority of rank, he was placed in commaml of Breckinridge's 
divisiorK which he commanded in the battle of Missionary Ridge, 
November 25, 1863, and in covering the retreat of the Confederate army 
therefrom. General Bragg, the army commaniier, in his official report, says : 

"Brigadier-Generals * * * and Bate * " ' were distinguished 
for coolness, gallantry, and successful conduct throughout the engage- 
ments and in the rear guard on the retreat." 

On February 27, 1864, while at Dalton, Ga., Major-General BATE was 
regularlv assigned to the command of Breckinridge's division, which 
was thereafter designated as " Bate's division." 



Address of Mr. Gaines^ of Toinessee 71 

In opposing General Sherman's advance on Atlanta; with General 
Hood's northward movement, culminating in the battles of Franklin and 
Nashville ; and in the campaign of the Carolinas, terminating in the sur- 
render of General Johnston's army at Durham Station, N. C, April 26, 
1865, General Bate bore an active part, being wounded in front of 
Atlanta August 10, 1864. All of the troops of Cheatham's corps engaged 
in the battle of Bentonville, N. C, March 19, 1865, were commanded by 
General Bate. He was paroled at Greensboro, N. C. , May i, 1865. 

Official statement furnished to Hon. John W. Gaines, House of Rep- 
re.sentatives, June 16. 1906. 

By authority of the Secretary of War : 

V. C. AiNSWORTH, 

Tin- Military Sccfctary. 

Being a mere child during the ci\'il war, I have no personal 
knowledge of the fortitude and many heroic deeds of General 
Bate during that conflict, but have the good fortune of being 
able to present to-day, in pleasing detail, from the pen of 
another, some of his heroic acts in that unfortiuiate and bloody 
struggle. 

Dr. William J. McMurray, who was first lieutenant in Com- 
pany B, Twentieth Tennessee Infantry, often called by General 
B.\TE his "Tenth Infantrj- Legion," in the Nashville American 
of March 10, 1905, writes most interestingly of the brilliant 
military career of General B.^TE. Doctor McMurray, whom I 
well knew, was himself a brave Confederate soldier, and to his 
recent death a distinguished physician of Nashville. Doctor 
McMurraj' says: 

In May, 1S61, when the clouds of war began to hang low. General B.\TE 
offered his services to the South and joined its forces as a private. He 
was at once elected captain and then colonel of that famous Second Ten- 
nessee Infantry Regiment. 

His last" great battle was that of Shiloh, where he .shared the work of 
Cleburne's brigade of Hardee's corps on the e.>itreme left of the Confed- 
erate lines. Here he bravely led his regiment through a murderous fire, 
when he fell severely wounded, a minid ball breaking both bones of his 



"Error, evidently, as article shows he was engaged in several "great 
battles" after Shiloh fight. 



/- 



Mentor/a/ . It/t/nssrs: ]]'illia»i B. Bate 



leg and cutting an artery unilcr liis knct- . His liorsc was killed at that 
same time. 

His gallantry and that iif his regiment was so marked that he was hon- 
orahly mentioned in the reports of both Generals Cleburne and Hardee, 
and on October 3, 1862, he was promoted to brigadier-general, and onthis 
spot where he fell his old regiment has erected a monument. 

On account of his wonnil he was put in temporary command of the dis- 
trict of northern Alabama. In February, 1863, he was again assigned to 
the field and put in command of Raines's brigade of Polk's corps, General 
Raines having been killed in the battle of Murfreesboro, and in June, 
1863, he was removed from this brigade and assigned to a newly formed 
brigade, composed of the Fifty-eighth .\labama. Thirty-seventh Georgia, 
Fifteenth, Thirty-seventh, and Twentieth Tennessee regiments, and Cas- 
well's Georgia Battalion, and assigned to the division of the grand old 
hero, A. P. Stewart, Company B, Twentieth Tennessee Infantry, his Tenth 
Infantry Legion. 

He took part in the Tullahonia canijiaign with much credit. 

.At the battle of Hoover's Gap, on June 23, 1863, General Bate, with 
the Twentieth Tennessee Regiment and the little Georgia battalion, fought 
for two hours two brigades of Federals, and when other reenforcements 
came up, which was the remainder of his brigade. General Stewart arriv- 
ing upon the field about nightfall, found General B.\TK in command with 
a fle-sh wound in his leg, but .still on the firing line. 

General Rosecrans, in his official report, says this little handful of 
soldiers under B.\TK delayed the left wing of his army for thirty-six hours 
and prevented him from getting possession of Bragg's comnmnicatious 
and forcing him to a di.sastrous battle. 

It was about Ihi^ time that tlie political ])arties of Tennes.see offered 
General B.\TE the nomination for governor of Tennessee, which w-ould 
taV : '''m from the field, but he declined and .said he could not accept a 
civ:, position while he could serve his people upon the field. 

General B.\TE next took a prominent part in the battle of Chickamauga; 
he fired the first gun in that historic .struggle, on the banks of the river of 
death, on Friday evening, September iN, driving the Federals from Thed- 
fords Ford, cros.sing that stream the next morning, and about 2 p. m. went 
into action as a part of the Confederate reserve. During this first charge 
of Stewart's division, which was composed of the brigades of Brown, 
Clayton, and B.\TK, the Federal right center was broken for the first time, 
anil the enemv was driven back for more than i mile down by the Kelly 
house, on across the Rossville road, down to the tauyard, in the Dyer 
field, and a glance at the map of that field will show that Bate led his 
men farther to the front than any other Confederate troops that day. 

The next day Bate and his men participated in that death struggle. 
All dav long the battle raged until finally Snodgrass Hill was captured. 



Address of Mr. Gaines, of Tennessee 73 

and when that great blue mass slid down from the northern slope of 
Snodgrass Hill the Eufaula battery was attached to BaTE'S brigade that 
had fired the first gun of the battle on Friday evening and fired the last 
gun on Sunday evening. 

In this engagement Bate's brigade entered the fight with i.i->55 mus- 
kets and had killed and wounded 607. Every field officer in his brigade 
was killed or wounded but two or three. 

After this battle President Davis followed in the track where Bate and 
his men fought, and in less than thirty days Brigadier-General Bate, of 
infantry, was offered a major-general's conmiission of cavalry. At the 
battle of Missionary Ridge General BATE commanded Breckinridge's old 
division just east of the road that led by Bragg's headquarters. 

Throughout the Georgia campaign of one hundred days' fight he com- 
manded his division in Hardee's corps. At Resaca he drove back every 
attempt of the enemy, and at Dallas, Ga., he a.ssaulted Logan's corps in 
their trenches. On the 22<1 of July he led the flank movement under 
Hardee which brought on the famous battle of Atlanta, in which General 
McPherson was killed. 

On the 6th of August, with his division alone, he fought the battle of 
Eutaw Creek that checked the right-flank movement of the enemy around 
Atlanta, capturing several flags, and puni.shing the enemy very severely 
in this engagement. He was shot through the knee and sent to the hos- 
pital at Barnesville, Ga. He recovered from this wound just in time to 
join Hood in his ill-fated campaign in Tennessee. 

In this campaign he commanded a division in Cheatham's corps, which 
was Hardee's old corps, and was with this corps when the great nif.s- 
take was made at Spring Hill, and the next day led his division upon 
the bloody works at Franklin, where many of his men gained the interior 
of the enemy's works and held them until the Yankees retreated. Next 
morning after the battle Geheral Hood ordered General Bate to take the 
remnant of his division and proceed across the country to the Nashville 
and Chattanooga Railroad and destroy all the blockhouses and bridges 
between Murfreesboro and Nashville. He was then ordered to rejoin 
Hood at Nashville, which was done only a few days before the battle of 
Nashville. 

It was in this engagement his division was nearly annihilated. While 
at the angle on that line his Tennesseans were demolished and his 
Georgians fought until they were surrounded on three sides, yet Bate, 
with crutch in hand, rode up and down his line urging his men to hold 
fast. He retreated out of Tennessee with Hood and finally followed Joe 
Johnston into the Carolinas, and at the battle of Bentonville, the last bat- 
tle note of the war, General Bate commanded the remnant of his old 
division and that of Cleburne's, and assaulted the Federal earthworks, 
overrun them, driving the enemy back and capturing many prisoner.s. 



74 Memorial Addresses: M'illiam B. Bate 

. In this, the last battle and dying agony of the Confederacy, Gen. Wil- 
liam B. Bate, with crutch in hand and suffering from many wounds, 
was a conspicuous figure. He stood here literally in the last ditch. 

General Bate returned to Nashville after the war and enjoyed a lucra- 
tive practice in the law, was twice elected governor of the State, and four 
times sent by an appreciative people to the Ihiited States Senate, the 
greatest honor within their gift. 

No braver soldier ever un.slieathed a .sword or shouldered a. 
gun than General Batk. Whether walking or riding, sick or 
well, mangled on the battlefield or hobbling on crutches, 
defying the imperious surgeon's knife or facing the mowing 
grapeshot, he was the personification of dauntless courage, 
demanding his rights as he saw them, courting death at every 
turn rather than be unfaithful in the least, act a coward in the 
slightest, or fall slnjrt of the full measure of duty well done. 

Ever cautious, studious, and thoughtful before arriving at 
his conchisions, whether the (juestion concerned a civic, mili- 
tary, or legislative responsibility, he always had an opinion as 
to what was right and what was wrong and unbendingly and 
imiuovabh^ stood f(.)r what he thought was right. He never 
bent the truth nor swer\-ed in doing, or trying to do, his full 
duty, re.gardless of the consequences. 

He never struck below the belt. He was always open, 
frank, with friend or foe, a gentleman of tlie very highe.st 
honor, and as far from fraternizing at any time, anywhere, 
with any man who fell short of this high standard as any man 
who was ever honored by State or nation. 

So severe was his wound received at Shiloh tliat the army 
surgeon informed C.eneral B.\TE that he must amputate his leg 
to .save his life. But General Bate said it should not be done. 
The surgeon came to perform the operation, and General Bate 
drew his pistol and said to the surgeon that he would kill him 
if he undertook to do so. General Bate was victorious, .saved 



Address of Mr. Gaiiirs, of Tcinicssce 75 

his leg, but ever afterwards walked lame and almost uniformly 

with a heavy hickory stick. 

His friends thought after this wound that he would be unfit 

for active duty in the field, and, in iSh;,. urged him to accept 

the nomination for the governorship of Teiuiessee, Init he 

refused and replied in the following remarkably characteristic 

words : 

Wartrace, July // , igOj. 

Gentlemen : In reply to your telegram of to-day I beg to say that, 
however flattering the honor you suggest and to which I am not insen- 
sible, tliere is a duty that rises above it. As a son of Teimessee and a 
southern soldier, I would feel dishonored in this hour of trial to quit the 
field. No, .sirs ; while an armed foe treads our soul and I can fire a shot 
or draw a blade I will take no civic honor. I had rather, amid her mis- 
fortunes, be the defender than the governor of Tennessee. Let me exhort 
to harmony. 

Respectfully. W. B. B.vTE. 

Messrs. Galloway, Rick, Winchester, Brown, and others. 

I dare say he never sought, as a Mexican or Confederate 
soldier, as a private or major-general, any position of security, 
if duty called him elsewhere. He was the kind of a man who 
would resolve every doubt against himself in deciding on what 
liis full duty was as a citizen, on the battlefield, or in any civic 
position he ever filled. 

He was amongst the first Tennesseans to enlist as a Federal 
soldier in the Mexican war. He was one of the first Tennes- 
seans to enlist as a Confederate soldier in the civil war. In 
each of these wars he fought to the last — initil the bloody 
sword had settled the questions in dispute. And when death 
touched him with the harness .still on he would have then died 
for his country if it had been necessary. The man's whole life 
shows that this is not an extravagant statement. 

Though the cause of the Confederacy was to him always an 
absolutely just cause — a fight for equal rights for equal State.s — 



76 Mciiiorin/ .hfc/rrssis: ]]'iUia)!i B. Bate 

hf acceiitt-d tlie arhitraiiifiit of tlie sword in 1S65, and, like a 
niaiil\' and jiatriotic man that he was, stood sponsor for a 
reunited countr\' in fact and law and died as he wished — in 
the service of his native State and coinitrx" — a wish his State 
had »a;ratified li>' electini; him the fourth time to the Senate at 
the advanced aj^e of jy years, and over one of Tennessee's 
most gifted statesmen. 

Having been designated by the vSecretary of War as one of 
those to speak for Confederates at the dedication of Chicka- 
niauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, General Bate 
delivered a most memorable sjieech, which I hope that every ■ 
mendjer of Congress, and every man, women, and child in this 
Republic niaj- at an early day impartial!)- read and study. 

General Bate, in part, .said: 

The principles in deffiise of •which the South accepted hattle were 
foiinil ill the Constitution. Whatever may Ije the right or the wrong, the 
Soiitli believed she was right, and the' principles in defense of which 
the .South accepted battle, after peaceably seceding from the Union, were 
found in the Constituion and taught by the fathers. The South claimed 
and asked nothinj^ more than equal rights, not of persons only, but of 
States, equal privilej^es in all parts of the Union; equal protection where- 
ever the flag floated to every person and to every species of property 
recognized by anj- State. Less than th.it was suljordination, not equality. 

Thus, Jlr. Chairman, it may be seen that the facts of history, the writ- 
ings of the founders of our Federal system, the reservations of the States 
when ratifying the Constitution, and, it may I)e .said, the resolutions and 
platforms of political parties, and the course of administration up to that 
time, all united to sustain the theor\- that our Federal Union was a com- 
pact of confederation from which any State could peaceably withdraw. 

When equal rights and equal privileges were denied to the South, an 
appeal to the court of last resort between sovereign .States became abso- 
lutely necessary —an appeal to war — that tribunal of force whose judgment 
is final, whether just or otherwise. In its forum the States joined issue, 
and when its decree was found against the .South we bowed to it as final, 
without coiLsenting to it as just or ri,ghteous. Its irreversible result will 
not again be questioned, but is accepted with a solemn .sen.se of duty, over- 
cast with natural and unavoidable sorrow. 

It now becomes our duty, as ex-Confederate soldiers, to maintain the 
Government with true faith, and defend the (lag of our countrj- with the 



Address of Mr. Gaines, nf Tennessee 77 

same courage and devotion that \vc gave to our "little cross of St. 
Andrew." 

That, Mr. Chairman, is the essence of the unvarnished story of the 
causes which led to our civil war. We take no exceptions to the sense of 
duty which impelled the people of the North to peril all of the Constitu- 
tion, all of material wealth, and that wider wealth of individual life to 
maintain the union of States, for it but shows their love and deep devotion 
to the Union. The South proffers at the bar of history and in the forum 
of conscience a rectitude of motive and a warrant of law not less moral 
and righteous than all that animated the North. 

Publicists may draw distinctions between just and unjust wars, but in 
civil conflicts for inalienable rights victory can not sanctify the wrong nor 
defeat invalidate the right. Our civil war established beyond controversy 
that the North was the stronger in all the materials of war and had vastly 
greater facilities for making them available, having, be,sides internal 
resources, the outside world to draw from; but beyond that human reason 
can draw no rightful conclusion, and the right or wrong is left to impartial 
history. 

And, Mr. Chairman, I have not the least apprehension that impartial 
hlstorv will fail to recognize the justification of the South in the records of 
our country and find that, according to the faith that was in her people, 
and their judgment made up from that standpoint, there was no alterna- 
tive left in 1S61 liut to appeal to arms; and I affinn, Mr. Chairman, with 
ecjual confidence, that any comparisons of the two sections, from the earli- 
est times to the present day, will not find the South to have been less 
patriotic or less solicitous for the honor, glory, and welfare of the I'nion. 

Among the thousands of blessings with which a kind Providence has 
crowned our country' there is one which of all others we are prone least 
to appreciate — the blessing of peace. The pomp of war, its imposing 
spectacles, its glittering array, the measured tread of armed men, and the 
neigh of the war horse — "as he .smelleth the battle from afar, and to the 
trumpet saith ha! ha!" — captivate the eye and intoxicate the senses, while 
the halo of military glory quenches the pulsation of humanity and veils 
from sight the widowed m^jther and the weejiing orphan kneeling on the 
bloody hearthstone. 

We men from yonder battlefields know what war is, and while holiling 
ourselves ever ready to touch elbows in line of battle against foreign foes, 
our experience, our courage, and our patriotism warn us to "beware c)f 
entrance to a quarrel." 

The blood and carnage of 1861-1865 should not be repeated. No 
thoughtful man, however, is free from grave apprehensions when he sees 
the ugly signs outcrop here and there and hang ominously over the des- 
tinv of our country. We even now see the faint yet vivid flashes and 



7>S Meuiorial Addresses: ]]'illiani B. Bate 

hear the thuiultr in the distance, and pray that the storm may pass 
harmless. 

When tlie time comes, which we pray may never come, that calls our 
men to battle, the record of the past gives promise and assurance to the 
future that the descendants of the men who followed Bragg on yonder 
field will be as responsive to the call, as valiant in the fight, and as 
vigorous in the pursuit as the children of those who rallied under 
Rosecrans, 

And should danger come, I believe the conservative .South may yet 
prove to be the rod that will conduct the fiery bolt harmless to the earth, 
and when liberty takes her flight, if she ever should, from this country, 
her last resting place will be in our Constitution-loving and Constitution- 
defending South. 

We of the South love our comrades with no less devotion; we see in 
them no less courage, honor, manliness, and patriotism than you recog- 
nize in your fellow-soldiers. To the men of the South their cause was not 
less holy, not less sacred, not less rightful than you esteem that for which 
your armies fought 

Col. James W. I51ackmore, a lifelong friend, leading lawyer 
and citizen of Gallatin, Tex., in a recent letter to me says: 

After the surrender of the Confederate army General Bate came home 
and found the property he owned had been attached for security debts, 
and he was left with but little to start on. But he went to Nashville and 
began the practice of law there, and .soon won distinction in his profession 
and gaineil a remunerative practice. 

After the civil war and for many years previons to his elec- 
tion as governor of Tennessc be jtracticed law in Nashville in 
partnership with Col. Frank E. Williams, a very able lawyer. 
He never practiced his profession after he was elected governor 
or to the United States Senate. He seemed to delight in giving 
his whole time to the ptiblic. 

General B.\TE was a man in whom the people must have had 
and did have implicit confidence, for he was almost continuon.sly 
filling, with or withont compensation, some place of distinction 
and trust. He was a delegate to the Democratic national co«i- 
vention in iS68, some of his brother delegates being the late 
lamented John F. House, A. O. P. Nicholson, Thomas A. R. 
Nelson, and Nathan Bedford Forre.st. Gen. W. B. Bate served 



Address of J/r. Gaines, of Tennessee 79 

as a member of the committee on organization, which made 
the Hon. Horatio vSeyniour president of the convention, and 
A. O. P. Nicholson vice-president, and Joseph H. Thompson 
secretary for the State of Tennessee. General Bate was also one 
of the committee to inform the nominees of their nomination. 

Judge Nelson, for the Tennessee delegation, nominated 
Andrew Johnson for President, and for the first six ballots 
he received the full vote of this delegation and for several 
times thereafter. 

As further evidence of General B.vte's loyalty and sincere 
devotion to a reunited people, one country, and one fiag, we have 
only to glance over the balloting of this hi.storic convention and 
.see the entire Tennessee delegation casting their vote for 
Franklin Pierce, George H. Pendleton, \V. S. Hancock, Thomas 

A. Hendricks, and Horatio Seymour for the Presidential nomi- 
nation, all of whom had opposed the cau.se of the Confederacy 
on the field of battle, in the forum, or on the .stump. And this 
only three years after the smoke of battle had lifted from the 
stricken Southland. 

On the twelfth ballot the first and only vote cast for George 

B. McClellan was given by Tennessee ' ' midst cheers and great 

applau.se," the balance of the votes being divided between John- 

,son and Pendleton. On the thirteenth ballot the vote was 

unchanged, except one cast for Franklin Pierce. On the 

fourteenth ballot the vote was equally di\'ided between Hancock 

and Pendleton. On the fifteenth it stood half for Jolukson and 

half for Pendleton. On the .sixteenth and .seventeenth ballots 

the vote stood five and one-half for John.son and the balance for 

Pendleton. But on the eighteenth, when "Tennessee" was 

called, the chairman of the delegation .said : 

The State of Tennessee, faithful to him who has ever been faitliful to 
our country, casts her united vote for Andrew Johnson. 



8o Mrtiioriiil Aiidrrssrs: II 'illiaiii B. Bate 

The onl\' vote he received on this ballot. 

On the nineteenth and twentieth ballots her ten \-otes were 
cast for Hancock amidst applause. On the twenty-first liallot 
the vote stood five for Johnson, two and one-half for Hancock, 
one-half for Hendricks, one-half for McClellan, two and one- 
half not x-otinu. On the twentx'-second ballot Tennessee cast 
three and one-half votes for Hancock, one and one-half for 
Hendricks, one for vSeynionr, and four for Johnst)n. On the 
first roll call Ohio cast twenty-one votes for vSe\'niour, and Ten- 
nessee one; total, twent\-t\\o. Before the balloting concluded 
New Jersey, \\'esl \'iri;"inia, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, 
Maine, and (Georgia changed their votes to Se\-mour, and he 
was nominated. 

When nominatiims for \'ice- President were jiresented and 
the name of Tennessee was called the chairman of tiie Ten- 
nessee delegation said : 

Mr. Chairman, it is the plea.sure of the Tennessee delegation that the 
vote of the Slate of Tenne.ssee .shall he cast by a distinguished southern 
soldier, whom I have the hi>nor to present to the convention — N. K. I'or- 
re.st. [tVreat ai>plause.] 

Whereupon (reneral Forrest said : 

I have the pleasure, sir, to cast the vote of Tenne.ssee for General Blair, 
and I wish to take this occasion to thank the delegates here for the kind 
and uniformly courteous treatment that the southern delegates have 
received at this convention. [Great cheering.] 

This ci)n\ention met Jul\- 4, iSdS, and as.sembled at Tam- 
many Hall. 

Fur twelve _\ears C.eneral H.VTK served as a member of the 
national Democratic executive connnittee. 

In 1S75 he was defeated for the I'nited States Senate by a 
narrow margin. (.)n one ballot he was elected by one vote, btit 
by a change of one vote before the result could be announced 
there was a tie as against the combined vote of ex-President 



AMrrss of Mr. Gaines^ of Tennessee 8i 

Andrew Johnson and Mr. Edwin H. Ewing. Finally Mr. 
Johnson was elected. 

General Bate was elector for the »State at large on the 
Tilden and Hendricks ticke.t. in 1876, and made a thorongh 
canvass of the State. He ahvays loyally supported the nomi- 
nees of the Democratic party and its platforms. He was a 
"strict constructionist" of the old .school, a State rights advo- 
cate of unsuspected fidelity. 

I distinctly remember that during his first or .second cam- 
paign — his second, I think — for governor, the Democratic plat- 
form indorsed and demanded the continuation of a railroad 
rate-fixing commission law, then unpopular. Throughout a 
laborious campaign General B.\TE stood .squarely on this plat- 
form. It appeared for a little while as though he would be 
defeated becau.se of his fixed determination to stand by this 
law and for his party platform. 

About this time one of Tennessee's greatest sons, lawyers, 
public speakers, writers, and authors. Col. Arthur S. Colyar, 
said: 

Scratch the platform and vote for the imtn. 

This keen discrimination from such a high source rang 
throughout Tennessee and was on everyone's lips. But Gen- 
eral Bate .stuck to his party platform, was reelected, a per- 
sonal triumph, for a legislature w-as at the same time selected 
which passed a bill to repeal this law, which met with a 
prompt and vigorous veto from Governor Bate, but the legis- 
lature nevertheless passed the bill over his ^•eto. 

The Hon. Park Marshall, State senator of Tennes.see, and 

I think during the gubernatorial administration of General 

B.\TE and afterwards intimately associated with him in Wash- 

. ington City, in a published letter briefly reviews General 

B.\te's record as governor. After quoting General B.vtk's 

S. Doc. 403. 59-2 6 



82 Moitorial .Iddrcsses: ]\'iUiai)i B. Bate 

immortal telegram from W'artrace, Jul\- 17, 1.S63, already cited, 
declining the honor of a nomination for governor. Mr. Marshall 
says: ■ 

With his (lesperale wounds still uiihealeil. unable to move about except 
on crutches, Wili^iam B. B.aTK sent the above reply from the Confeder- 
ate camp at Wartrace to the convention which virtually offered him the 
office of governor. 

These words were not spoken in idleness, nor was that spirit that gave 
them utterance broken to the end of those days "that tried men's souls." 
even after other severe wounds had been received at Hoovers Gap and at 
Atlanta, nor after the marches and battles from Atlanta to Nashville and 
from Nashville to the end at Bentonville. 

Many a man — and true man at that — would gladly, under the circum- 
stances, have accepted the call of his State to the high and more secure 
office of governor and been held blameless. 

Nineteen years later the people, under trying circumstances, again 
called upon W. B. B.-VTE to take the office of governor. Now, the con- 
ditions had changed. General B.\TE had accepted the arbitrament of 
war, and was pursuing the practice of his profession, in which his success 
was very great, lie had earned sufficient money with which to payoff 
|;3o,ooo of antewar debts, and his income was much greater than the 
salary attached to the office of governor. Yet he accepted the nomination 
when his chances of election were extremeh- doubtful. Indeed, many of 
those who were considered the best judges were of the opinion that the 
probabilities were altogether again.st him and again.st any other man who 
should make the race. Democratic prospects were at the lowest ebb in 
the State at which thev have ever stood since 1S6;;. It is clear that 
neither at this time nor in 1S63 did General B.\TK reach a decision to 
promote his own comfort. Everyone must remember what a nightmare 
the State debt question was during the whole period from iSyoup to 1SS3, 
how it arraj-ed neighbor against neighbor, smothered almost every other 
issue, and paralyzed the .Stale, until' finally it sjilit the Democratic party 
in twain and in 18S0 elected a Repuljlican governor and State officials. 
In 1882 the split had shown no signs whatever of mending while the debt 
itself was growing apace. It was at this time that the Democratic party 
turned to General BATE, who did not .seek the office, and appealed to him 
as a strong and suitable man to lead them. He accepted, out of a pure 
sense of public spirit, and such was the ability displayed by him in his 
debates on the stump and sucli the confidence he inspired that the people 
everywhere crowded together to hear him, and he was elected by 27,000 
majority. 

This was the manner of \V. B. B.\Ti;'s introduction to public position 
after the war, and it was the middle period, as it were, of a line of sue- 



Address nf Mr. Gaines, of Tennessee 83 

cesses unequaled since the time of Andrew Jackson in this State. Before 
that lie had been, at different times, a soldier in the Mexican war, a 
member of the legislature, district attorney-general, private, captain, 
major, colonel, brigadier-general, and major-general, successively, in the 
Confederate army, and for seventeen years a most successful lawyer; 
while, since 1882, he has been governor four years and United States 
Senator seventeen years, and no semblance of a taint has attached to him 
in any of these positions at any time. 

But we are speaking of him especially in his relations to the office of 
governor. Here it may be remarked that a good object, only partialh- 
accomplished, may long be remembered with admiration, for the endeavor 
and regret for such failure as ma}- be incident to it, whilst one, perfectly 
accomplished, may soon be forgotten as no longer demanding attention. 
Let not Senator BaTE'S successes, though complete, be among those that 
are forgotten. He brought order out of fiscal chaos, perfect credit to his 
State, and lasting harmony to the Democratic party. Had he not done 
these things so well there might not now be so much reason for recalling 
them to memory. His was not a mere routine administration. All the 
chief acts of his administration are his and are strongly impressed with 
his personality and guiding hand. All of his appointments were recog- 
nized as being responsive to the paramount public interests, and consist- 
ently therewith, were chiefly given to the men who had "slept in the 
leaves with him." 

His attention to the settlement of the ,State debt was a.ssi(luous and 
constant, the hour of midnight often finding him at his office in the 
capitol engaged in the work. He adopted a system of doulple checking 
to avoid errors. Every seal was impressed on every bond and every 
executive signature was written by his own hand. Not an error occurred 
throughout the whole transaction. The Bank of Tennessee money and 
the Torbett Issue were settled and refunded into certificates under his 
per.sonal supervision and by his own hand. His administration was pro- 
ductive of perfect satisfaction to friends or foes alike, from a business 
standpoint at least. During the whole four years he had but one assistant 
in his office — the adjutant-general — who also acted as his private secretary, 
except that there was a very small appropriation for clerical assistance in 
each of his two terms, part of which, being unused, was turned back into 
the treasurv. The committee of the legislature having the debt settle- 
ment in charge proposed to allow him compensation for the great extra 
labor to be imposed upon him, but this he positively declined to pennit 
to be enacted into law, saying that his salary was fixed before his election, 
and he would not receive a dollar in addition thereto, and did not do so. 

Governor Bate fixed 30 cents on the hundred dollars as a fair rate of 
taxation — just to the taxpayer and at the same time sufficient to pay cur- 
rent expenses and interest on the .State debt and have a suqiliis for enier- 



84 Memorial Addresses: U'illiaiii /.'. Bate 

geiicies and for the gradual reduction of the del)l. This rate was found 
to l)e an eminently satisfactory one. With it he paid current expenses, 
paid the interest on the debt, paid the large costs of asylums built, and in 
addition paid off |596,oc.xj of Bank of Tennessee money. His administra- 
tion was in every detail eminently economical and wise, and is often 
sjioken of, without disparaging others, as a model one. 

With B.\TK's administration, the amount of the debt having been fixed 
and -settled, began the first really orderly system of taxation after the war, 
which has grown with the growth of population and prosperity since the 
debt was settled until the revenues, by steady annual growth and accre- 
tions, are now- far greater than they then were, the growth in volume 
being .steady and the amount of receipts for the year just pa.ssed, under 
Governor Frazier, being considerably greater than those for any previous 
year, while at the .same time the expen.ses were practically the same as 
those of the .several years immediately before. 

So exemplary and satisfactory \vas the administration of Gov- 
ernor B.\TE the Democrats elected him to the United .State.s 
Senate in 1887. He was reelected in iSy;, and in 1S99 and kjo.s, 
having taken his seat for the fourth time in that body March 4, 
just five days before his death. 

His long service in the Senate appears in the ufficial record, 
open to e\-ervone. It speaks for it.self, as his deed> alwa\s 
spoke for him. whether in peace or war. He was constant. 
inteUigent, efficient, loyal, and patriotic. His devotion to dut\ , 
to that unusually high standard he set and maintained, was 
superb, and won for him the confidence and re.spect of his 
colleagues and the .admiration and applau.se of the people of 
Tennessee regardless of party. 

Thev well knew they could retire at any hour, day or night, 
and know that he wuuld be found ])romptly at his post, ready 
to toe the mark. His private and public deeds are above sus- 
picion; his record .spotless. The old and young of this or any 
land can profitably rend and study his history and ennilate his 
illustrious example. 

No private or public monument need be erected to his mem- 
ory. His life, his teachings, his deeds, these, his .self-erected 



Address of Mr. Gaines, of Tennessee 85 

monument, constructed day by day, will last as long as the 
human eye can read and unseared consciences .shall dwell in 
the hearts of civilized man. 

He was a tender and con.siderate hn.sband and father. His 
devotion to his wife — "my cheerful companion and m\- faith- 
ful comforter, through war and peace, through weal and woe, 
through good and evil fortune " ' — was a beautiful and continu- 
ous courtship, so much .so as to be often the subject of the 
happiest comment. 

He was charitable without o.stentation. He was a faithful 
church attendant. 

Although his citizenship and home were in Nashville, a city 
studded with .schools, colleges, and churches, he clung with 
filial devotion to his old homestead about Castalian Springs, 
some 40 miles from Nashville. A few years before his death 
he joined the Baptist Church, of which his mother had been a 
member, and in the same chapel in which she had worshiped 
down to her death, located near the scenes of his childhood. 
He wi.shed to be and was baptized at the same place, in the 
same little stream in which his mother, years before, had been 
immersed. This was all done without the people of Nashville, 
a city of 150,000 people, knowing anything about it for some 
time afterwards. There were small and large Bapti.st churches 
in Nashville that were thoroughly religiously conducted, whose 
membership was composed of his intimate friends and com- 
rades, to whom he was always devoted. 

This unusual act must have been prompted l:>y his devotion 
to that " spot of sunshine" where he was born and reared, and 
reverence for mother, mother's church, and her old church 
hou.se. He followed mother's example, stepped in mother's 
footprints down to the little stream and down into the very 
pool where she years before was baptized. All this, and the 



86 Memorial Addresses: ]]'illiai)i B. Bate 

quiet, modest waj- in which he had it done, is, I believe, with- 
out precedent. Thus he paid homage at least to his mother, 
and exhibited unparalleled respect to this modest chapel, 
where perhaps he first heard mother lisp her prayers for 
husband, daughters, and sons; for country, God, and truth. 

The plain and devout minister who recei\-ed him into this 
church tenderly and with modest pride alluded to this incident 
in the religious exercises over the remains of Senator Bate, as 
they lay covered in a wilderness of flowers offered by the 
legislature of Tennessee and the people themselves from 
throughout his native State, who paid last and fitting respect 
to his memory in the house of representatives in the vState of 
Tenne.ssee, where fifty-six years before, in the splendor of his 
young manhood, he had served as one of their lawmakers. 

His last and fatal illness was brought about from exposure 
in attending the inauguial ceremonies at the national capital, 
March 4, 1903. I personalh- warned him against going out in 
the severe cold that day, but he promptly replied, as he pa,s.sed 
on out of the Chamber to the platform : "1 think I should go, 
out of respect to the President. I think it is my duty, sir;" 
and continued forward with his brother Senators and listened 
thoiighout to the inaugural address of President Roosevelt. 

He was .soon stricken with a .severe cold and died in less 
than five days thereafter. Thus we see this man did finally 
sacrifice his life in doing what he considered his full duty. 

His mind was clear to the last. He fully realized that death 
was soon to close his earthly career, but he was ready. He 
was calm and met in his weakness his last enemy as he had 
met others in his strength, with clean hands, unflinching cour- 
age, clear conscience, and full of hope. With a few friends 
and his devoted wife about his bedside, he bade them a final 
adieu, and then thought of far-awav Tennessee and friends 



Address of Mr. Gaines, of Tennessee 87 

that had gone to their final rest, and said: "I am dying. 
When I am dead take me back to Tennessee and bury me at 
Mount Olivet among nu' friends." 

This was done. In the family burying ground in that beau- 
tiful city of the dead, and, as it happened, in the shadow of the 
Confederate shaft, that .silent witness of his heroic deeds and 
those of his Confederate comrades, his remains rest to await 
the resurrection morn. Repeating tiie words of one of his old 
comrades, Col. George B. Guild — 

The greensward of Mount Olivet will never hide a nobler, grander 
character than Senator Willi.\m B. B.\te; the recital of his manly career 
as a public servant is an inspiration now and will be for coming years. 
Courtly gentleman, public-spirited citizen, brave soldier, farewell ! 

Mr. Speaker, in his death many an humble, plain man, 
woman, and child in Tennessee has lost a ready and generous 
sponsor ; the State of Tennessee has last one of its purest citi- 
zens and public servants ; the Republic has lost one of its most 
capable and incorruptible Senators. 



88 Memorial Addresses: William />'. Bate 



Address of Mr. Gros\tnor, of Ohio 

Mr. SpEAKKk: Stiialor 15atk w^is a tyiiical southern man. 
He was a typical southern soldier. He was a typical southern 
politician. He was a Democrat of the old school; a Democrat 
who began his career and ended his career with knowledge and 
faith in the old time-honored principles of the Democratic party. 
He believed in those principles, and could he have shaped the 
policy of his party it would have stood by Democratic princi- 
ples. Xo false god could have allured him from the beaten 
pathway and the accepted time-honored principles of Democratic 
policy. I shall speak, however, little of his political views and 
more of his record as a soldier and his character as a patriot. 

I read with some interest this morning a sketch ot his life 
and public ser\-ices furnished l.)y a friend, and I find that he and 
I were close together during much of that momentous i)eri(id 
covered by the civil war, not in sentiment, but in ]ihysical loca- 
tion, which lasted substantially during all of his great experi: 
ence in the army — he in an important command and I in a very 
hmnljle command. 

It is said in this sketch that his fir.st great battle was Corinth. 
I was not there. I was then beginning the experience which 
ripened into over four years of service in the Unicju Arm\-. but 
General Bate had been a .soldier in the Mexican war, and his 
career in the civil war illustrates the importance and value of 
.service experience as a soldier, a value that can not be dupli- 
cated in any (jther way. 

It does not appear that between the clo.se of the Mexican war 
and the outbreak of the civil war General Bate had taken any 
interest or had any practical connection with military matters, 



Address of Mr. Grosz'Ciior^ of Ohio 89 

and yet the limited service that he had iti the Mexican war in the 
humble position which he occupied fitted him to at once assume 
promitience in the new conditions that surrounded him. And 
so, like many others, some of the volunteers, men without train- 
ing at West Point, men without active service except this 
Mexican war experience, found themselves prominent and 
distinguished. It was well that we had those men. They 
rapidly transformed our bands of soldiers and artisans and clerks 
and students into trained and tried and efficient soldiers. 

The State of Tennessee was peculiarly located with reference 
to the great events of the great war. Tennessee was already his- 
torically great- vSiie had produced great men, great soldiers, and 
had written the name of the gallant " \'olunteer set" upon the 
historical records of her country, but in the ci\il war Tennessee 
was our pathway to the South. She occupied the great middle 
position between the Northeast and the Southwe.st and the 
South. Strategicalh- Tennessee was the pivot or central point 
from which radiated the great movements of the two great 
armies. Grant, coming up the Tennessee and Cumberland b}- 
way of Fort Henry, reached Pittsburg lyanding, and a column 
under Buell and Mitchell striking Nashville and central Ten- 
nessee, and so it was that Tennessee became second only to 
Virginia as the great theater of the war. And here it was, upon 
the .soil of Tennessee, that General Bate occupied a prominent 
position. 

I shall not di.scuss in detail his merits as a .soldier. They are 
sufficiently written in the official reports of the army to which 
he belonged. They are sufficiently written in the appreciation 
of his fellow-soldiers, and they are sufficienth- written in the 
loyalty of Tennessee to the men who served under the very eye 
of the people of that great State. Tennessee was devastated 
by war. CoUnnns of marching men sweeping across her rich 



90 M,-niorial Addresses: William B. Bate 

fields and through Iilt fair towns and cities left the impress of 
the devastation of war upon her. That she bore the afflictiou 
heroically and without a nuirniur is history. She was divided 
iu sentiment, and much of loyalty and devotion to the old Union 
remained with her, and no truer men, no more self-sacrificing 
men, operated under the Stars and Stripes than the men of East 
Tennessee, who came gladly to the front and formed regiments 
and fought and bled and died and suffered the destruction inci- 
dent to war, and suffered the destruction incident to internal 
strife among the people of the same State. 

The sweep of the great armies first arriving at Nashville, 
moving by Murfree.sboro to Huntsville, Ala., came back by 
Battle Creek and Manche.ster to Na.shville, and thence by Stone 
River and thence by the Tullahoma campaign, and all the inci- 
dents of war along the Tennes.see River, ultimately and finally 
up to the carnage of Franklin and the great battle of Nashville. 
Surely Tennessee suffered, did not cry out, Init .stood .stubbornly 
fighting to the entl. 

In both the.se great battles of Franklin and Nashville, General 
Bate was a prominent figure. He well might have been, for 
he was on the soil of his own State and fighting to reach his 
own home and fighting to make its victory for the cause in 
which he had embarked. It is said in the sketch to which I 
referred, that he was pre.sent and participated in the "mi.stake 
at Franklin." I am not here to discuss military strategy, but 
if there was a mistake made at the battle of Franklin by the 
Confederate troops, and I think there was a most serious mis- 
take, it was n(jt made b>' General Bate or any of the inferior 
officers of that immense column of active, vigilant, and wonder- 
fully con-spicuous soldiers. The result at Franklin, while it 
looked like victory for the Confederates, was in fact a move- 
ment which ultimately worked disaster, and under all ordinary 



Address of Mr. Grosvi'iior^ of O/iio 91 

circumstances the part of wisdom by the Confederates would 
have been to wait at Frankhn, halt and consider, and ultimately 
abandon all the preconceiv-ed notion of Nashville. There was 
not one chance in a thousand that Nashville could be captured, 
and it has always seemed to me that the battle of Nashville, 
pressed upon us by the advancing column of Hood, was the 
greatest strain upon the soldiers of Tenne.ssee of an}- of the 
other features of their campaign. The army of Hood had been 
turned aside from the general movement of the Confederate 
army at the same time that General Thomas had been located 
at Nashville. Everyone understood that the grand strategy of 
the armies involved a successful movement by way of Nashville 
by the Confederate army onward to the Ohio River. It was 
perfectly understood by all of us that if that great army should 
be unsuccessful at Franklin and Nashville, then the\- would 
be destroyed. They were without a sufficient supply of pro- 
visions ; the country was absolutely bare of re.sources to aid 
them ; they were poorly equipped in ammunition and tents and 
transportation. 

Here was the flower of the Tennessee troops uuder Cheatam 
and a number of others whom I might name, and conspicuous 
among them General B.vte. The\' made their appearance 
after the disaster at Franklin, for although the I'nion Army 
fell back with great loss and came to Nashville practically in 
retreat, yet the movemeut was perfectly understood to be a 
strategic movement to draw further away the badly crippled 
army of Hood to its ultimate destruction in front of Nashville. 
I think there was no greater demonstration of splendid hero- 
ism, of splendid self-sacrifice, than that exhibited l.)v this arm>- 
in its appearance before Na.shville on the morning of the lytli 
day of December of that memorable year. To withdraw and 
go backward and recross Tennessee Ri\-er to a place of tein- 



92 Memorial Addresses: U'l!/ia»i /?. Bate 

porary safety was defeat and destruction and substantial dis- 
grace ; to KO forward was death and overthrow and glory. 
Once across, the suggestion of temporary safety ; after across, 
the suggestion of honor and defeat. That they who com- 
manded the awful onslaught upon our lines upon that memora- 
ble December morning had any hope of success is impossible of 
belief, but the>- chose the path of honor and glory rather than 
the path of temporary safety and futile hope of the future. 
In Na.shville was a vast bod\- of niilitar\- stores, sufficient to 
have supplied the army during the whole of the coming winter 
and spring and put them in a position to have marched easily 
and practically unobstructed to Louisville, for the defeat of the 
I'ljion Army at Xashville and the forcing of it to retire would 
have been substantially the opening of a pathway to the Ohio 
River. Here, then, liefore them was the prospect of supplies, 
food to hungry men, clothes to .suffering men in midwinter, and 
the homes of their families, for in the city of Nashville and its 
surroundings there lived many of the soldiers of Hood's army. 
So their struggle to get into and take possession of that great 
and beautiful city of their State was a struggle to save their 
arm^■, i.ir failing, lose their army. 

So I say I think there was no greater demonstration of hero- 
ism than the teriffic attack made by Hood and his columns upon 
the forts and places around Nash\-ille on that occa.sion. That 
they should fail was absoluteh' inevitable. But men like Bate 
knew perfectly well that the end had come unless they were 
successful, and the terrific liattle was the result of that mental 
condition of that splendid army. Of course when fate decided 
against them they were practically de.stroyed, and the things 
that were witnessed in the pursuit of Hood down b\- wa>- of 
Franklin to the Temiessee River made an impre.ssion ujion my 
mind that will never be obliterated. Hundreds of men were 



Address of Mr. Grosz'ciior, of Ohio 93 

found marching in the sUght snow and the pouring rain or 
standing by the roadside giving up, surrendering, not by order 
of their commanding officer, but surrendering through the force 
of actual military and physical necessity; standing there by the 
roadside we found them with empty haversacks. Now and then 
a Union soldier would step up to the dejected Confederates and 
running his hand into his haversack and that old-time question, 
" What have you got there, Johnny? " was answered by the ex- 
hibition of a few grains or parts of corn. This was the armj^ 
thus fed and thus clothed which undertook the desperate work 
of destroying Thomas's army and capturing Nashville. 

There were scenes of fraternity and good will and lienevo- 
lence enacted between the solders of the triumphant army of 
the Union and the dejected and suffering soldiers of the arm>- 
of the Confederacy, and as we passed these lines of captured 
Confederates we were taught at that late period in the war that 
the real fighting men on both .sides had great admiration for 
each other. 

Notwithstanding, therefore, that I do not indorse the general- 
ship of the battle of Franklin — -surely not — I think there were 
no better .soldiers in either army than the men under Hood 
who made the forlorn, hopeless a.ssault upon our works at 
Nashville at the time I mention. The spirit of Cheatam and 
B.\TE and a score of others in.spired the soldiers. 

But let me pass on. General B.\tk was reconstructed, and I 
never heard anything upon the topic of the work and recon- 
struction and the new conditions from him until we met at the 
dedication of the great military park at Chattanooga — the 
Chickamauga National Park — and I there heard his splendid, 
comprehensive, eloquent oration. I believed then and I believe 
now that every word he said was sincere. I have only this one 
comment to make. It seems to me the conditions in this couu- 



94 ATcmoi'ial Addresses: William B. Bate 

tr}^ have reached the jwint of time wlieii it would be well for 
ex-Confederates and their representatives to cease saying upon 
every possible occasion that they believed then that they were 
right and they believe now they were right. This reiteration is 
not offensive to me, and if there was any practical good in it I 
would not comment upon it, but unfortunately no good can 
come of it. Does anyone doubt that men who fought four long 
years, left their homes, their wives and their children to suffer, 
witnes.sed the deva.station of their country, the destruction of 
their property, the death upon the battlefield of scores and hun- 
dreds and thou.sands of their fellow-citizens, bearing in their 
own bodies the wounds of conflicts, believe that they were not 
sincere? Do men fight that sort of a war for glory? There 
was no such thing as conquest jiossible. Why did they fight? 
They fought in a mistaken opinion sternly believed in, faith- 
fully adhered to, and why keep repeating it ? It .seems to me 
that it is unnecessary to give assurance that they were honest. 
Nobody doubts it. 

It is not worth while to plead "not guilty " when there is 
no indictment. The world has settled that question. The 
world has looked on with wonder at the reuniting of the two 
great wings of this country, the North and the South. In 
1890 I was a member of an official connni.ssion which was sent 
to Europe for certain pnrpo.ses connected with the Chicago 
Exposition and with relation to the consular ser\'ice in Europe. 
W'ith a number of the members of that connnission and 
another connnission I had the honor to be pre.sent ill the city 
of Berlin at a dinner given by the vice-chancellor of the 
German Empire. There were present on that occasion a 
colonel of the Confederate army, a major of the Confederate 
arniv, a captain of the llnioii Army, and myself, all members 
of the same commission and all bearing the appointment of the 



Address of Mr. Grosvenor^ of Ohio 95 

Government and all cooperating in the purpose of our mission. 
Caprivi, the then chancellor of the German Empire, the suc- 
cessor of Bismarck, himself a soldier of mighty renown, said to 
me that, in his opinion, the most wonderful feature of our situ- 
ation and one that he could not understand was the presence 
upon that commission of men who had served on either side 
of the great war. He said that would not be tolerated in 
Europe — there would never be such a gathering as that. The 
men who rebelled, as he called it, and I call it — and I see no 
reason wh}- to call it so should be offensive — would be rele- 
gated to eternal oblivion politically. He said to me, "Do you 
people over there treat these men just as well as you do your 
own comrades? " "Yes." I replied, " and sometimes, with a 
little touch of sympathy in our actions, a little better." He 
again assured me that it was the mo.st wonderful thing he ever 
knew and that he could not undenstand it. 

Another thing I wish to sa^' : Why should not a man like 
B.\Tfi: have been a member of the Senate of the United States 
as a representative of the great vState of Tennes.see? He had 
lived in the State and had fought for the State. He had made 
sacrifices. He had been shot and bruised, his property had 
been destroyed. His people sent him here, and under the Con- 
stitution they had a right to send him here, and their action 
was supreme and conclusive. No man can question it. Upon 
the broader plane of national politics, is it wise for the people 
of the South to constantly appear to recognize and constantly 
signify an admitted disability in the great political contest of 
the day of the men who fought on the Confederate .side? Why 
should they, the people of the vSouth, place conditions of dis- 
count upon the men who stood in the battle for them? Why 
limit the honors to be bestowed upon their fellow-citizens and 
the men who did not fight in the Confederate war? What is 



g6 Memorial Addresses: ]J'/7/ia»/ B. Bale 

there in the \-ie\v of the people of this country lo-<hiy that ])Hts 
upon the soutliern man who fought in the army of the Con- 
federacy a disabiht>' in any particular with relation to the 
action, history, and movements of the United States? When 
the President of the United States, and he has my approval — I 
have not had an opportunit>' to know \\\vi else approves it — 
when our President, a Republican, a northern man, writes such 
a letter as he wrote to the assembly last night, met in honor of 
the birthday of Gen. Robert E. Lee, the time has come when 
the South should quit apologizing or explaining or advertising 
disabilities and stand upon the front line of their political ideas, 
recognizing no disal)ilit\ , turning their backs u])on the past, 
and hailing the i)resent, and such a positicjn would be the best 
vindication thai the South c<.)uld give to men like Batk. 



Address of Mr. Clark^ of Missom-i 



Address of Mr. Clark, of Missouri 

Mr. Speaker : I am here to join in these proceechngs for 
two reasons : i. Because I knew and revered General Bate. 
2. Because I know and love John Wesley Gaines, who so ably 
represents the Hermitage district. There are some men in this 
world from whom a request comes to me as a command. One 
of these is Brother Gaines. 

The most pleasant feature of this .solemn occasion is the 
speech of my venerable friend General Grosvenor, of Ohio. I 
have heard him make divers speeches upon sundry subjects, 
but I have never heard him speak more interestingly or more 
sensibly than to-day. General Grosvenor was a Union soldier 
and was no carpet knight. He rose from major to brigadier, 
fwo years ago he and I debated at Nashville. One of the 
most fondly remembered days of m}- life was spent in companj' 
with him and Brother Gaines and certain eminent citizens of 
that city in going over the battlefield on which General 
Grosvenor commanded a brigade holding one of the .splendid 
turnpikes and on which General B.ate, commanding a tli vision 
of Confederates, was a conspicuous figure. During that day, 
to him full of heroic recollections, General Grosvenor uttered 
no word touching the brave, ragged, and hungry Confederates 
who immortalized that field except in prai.se of their valor and 
in sympathy for their sufferings. 

You and I, Mr. Speaker, and other men like us, loo young 
to be soldiers in the war between the States, can never experi- 
ence the sen.sation which Csesar denominates gaudium cerla- 
S. Doc. 403, 59-2 7 



98 Memorial .ItMrrssts: William B. Bate 

iiiiiiis, whicli a fLn'orite luiglish-speakiiig- poet has translated 

into the famous couplet : 

The stern j<j\' which warriors feel 
In foemen worthy of their steel. 

Xo more can we understand the respect and kindness which 
the I'nion and tlio Confederate soldiers feel for each other — 
indeed, which the>- always felt for each other. The men who 
did the fighting,' never perpetuated the bitterness of the four 
years" carnival of death. That was done b\' the stay-at-homes. 
But even they ha\-e ceased at last to stir tip strife, and it is 
well. 

Missouri is bound to Tennessee by .strongest ties of filial 
affection. The .greatest Missourian that ever lived — one of the 
reall>- great statesmen of the Repulilic — Col. Thomas Hart 
Benton — though born in North Carolina, grew to manhood and 
began his high career at Franklin, Tcnn. ISIany other distin- 
guished Missourians, among them the famous Governor Jo.seph 
Wingate Folk, and several thou.sand of the .sturdy citizens of 
that inqierial Commonwealth, first looked upon this glorious 
world in Tennessee. 

It is a well-known fact that innnigration closely luigs paral- 
lels of latitude. North Carolinians settled Tennessee. \'irgin- 
ians Settled Kentucky. North Carolinians and Temies.seans, 
Virginians and Kentuckians, together with the elite from every 
State and ci\-ilized country, settled Missouri originally and, to 
a large extent, Missourians have peopled the great West even 
to the golden shores of the peaceful ocean. 

Pioneers leave their impress upon a State forever in a greater 
or less degree. If they are a virile race and immigration front 
stocks other than those from which they sprang does not pour 
in so as to greatly outnumber the descendants of the original 
settlers, then the characteristics of the pioneers always remain 
the dominant characteristics of that people — virtues, traits, 



Address of Mr. Clark, of Missouri CjCj 

habits, and even prejudices descendin<;' fruni generation to 
generation. 

In no age, in no country, was there ever in any State a set 
of pioneers of higher qualities than the original settlers of Ten- 
nessee. Hers is hemic history from the time when William 
Bean built the first white man's cabin within her l)orders to 
the present hour. In all the elements of good citizenship they 
have had no superiors in the annals of the human race. 

The roll call of her early soldiers and ])ul_ilic men stirs the 
lilood of a lover of his country even at this late da>-. 

John Sevier, Isaac Shelby, Andrew Jackson, John Coffee, 
William Carroll, the Donelsons, the Robertsons, the Blounts, 
the Overtons, the McNairys, the Searcys, the Davidsons, the 
Hordemans, the Lewises, the Cookes, Sam Houston, Davy 
Crockett, Hugh L. White, Felix Grundy, the Roanes, the 
Bells, and the Bentons are names to conjure with — part of the 
priceless treasures of the State and of the Republic. 

What American wortlu- of the name is not proud to claim as 
countrymen the Tennessee frontiersmen who, armed only with 
sipiirrel rifles, utterly destroyed the gallant Ferguson and his 
trained veterans at Kings Mountain, thereby turning back the 
tide of invasion and starting Lord Cornwallis on his dismal 
and disastrous journe>- to Yorktown? 

Who can read without increased jtride in our country the 
thrilling story of the valor of the raw militiamen of Kentucky 
and Tennes.see who, on January S, 1.S15, converted Napoleon's 
quitclaim deed to us of the Louisiana Purchase into a general 
warranty deed whose validit}- no man may question? 

From her entrance into the Union, Tennessee has sent to the 
councils of the Republic strong, clear, admirable, high-miuded 
men — 

Men who their duties know. 
But know their rifjhts, Unci, knowing;, ilare niaintaiu. 



lOO Memorial Addresses: ]]'illiaiii B. Bate 

She has given to the Rejnihlic three Presidents — Andrew 
Jackson, of heroic and blessed nienior}-; James Knox Polk, to 
whose ability and achievements lnstur>- has never done justice; 
and Andrew Johnson, to whose career history has done gro.-^s 
injustice. ( »nl\' three States — Virginia, New York, and Ohio — 
ha\-e ])rotluced more Presidents. 

Tennessee has also furnished her quota of Speakers of this 
House, Cabinet officers, ministers to foreign courts, and judges 
of the Supreme Court of the United States. 

She has .sent to our wars so nianx' soldiers and of such 
.splendid qualities that she has fairly won and proudly bears the 
title of "The old \'olunteer State." 

Were the Republic fighting for her life to-day, she would in 
jiroportion to population send into the ranks of war as many 
.soldiers and as good ones as any other State in the Union. 

When I first came to Congress, Tennessee's Senators were 
Ishani Ci. Harris, czar of her fierce I)enK)cracy, and Gen. Wil- 
liam H. Bati'., a soldier of two wars. 

Oeneral K.\TK stood high as a law>'er. He held many minor 
ci\'il offices ; was twice governor of Tennessee : was elected to 
the United States Senate for four full terms, tlyhig in the 
beginning c.if the fourth. In every position he held he dis- 
charged hi^ duties with capacity, courage, industry, and 
fidelity. In politics he was a robust, jiatriotic partisan, and 
ever stood ready to both assert and defend the political faith in 
which he was born, in which he li\ed all his days, and in which 
he died. 

In his vouth he ser\-ed in the Mexican war, being mustered 
out as a lieutenant. 

In his prime during the war between the vStates he volun- 
teered as a private and fought his way to the double stars of a 
major-general. 



Address of Mr. Chirk, of Misscmri roi 

There is little doubt that his magnificent record as a soldier 
was the chief cause of his becoming governor and Senator. 
Carl Schurz in his Life of Henry Clay sagely remarks that the 
American voter likes the smell of gunpowder upon the gar- 
ments of his Presidential candidate. He might ha\-e extended 
his dictum so as to include candidates for offices of all sorts 
and sizes. 

General Bate was a fine sample of the American volunteer 
soldiery, upon which we have always chiefly relied, and upon 
which we will chiefly rely so long as the Republic endures ; for 
our people without regard to political creed are oppo.sed to a 
large standing army. In this country so few men desire to be 
soldiers that in times of peace it is difficult to keep the ranks 
of our small Army full ; but under necessity every American 
citizen is a possible soldier, intelligent, patriotic, brave. 

The greate.st European commander since Napoleon was once 
asked if he had studied the campaigns and battles of our Union 
and Confederate armies during their titanic struggle. He 
answered that he had no time to waste studying the camjiaigns 
and battles of armed mobs. Perhaps if he had run up against 
the combined armies of Grant and Lee he would have modified 
that cavalier opinion very suddenly. I rejoice in the faith that 
the average American citizen rises equal to the duties of any 
position in which he finds liimself, and I believe, furthermore, 
that when our great war closed there were marching in the 
ranks of the Union and Confederate armies, carrying muskets 
as privates, thousands of men who would have made capable 
colonels, brigadiers, or even major-generals if promoted on the 
instant. 

Having fought all he could during the four awful years of 
fratricidal strife. General Batk quit fighting when peace was 
declared and courageously, resolutely, and intelligently bent 



I02 Memorial Addresses: ll'i/h'ai)/ B. Bate 

bis splendid energies to Iniilding up tlie waste places of the 
South. It is pleasant to remember that he lived long enough 
to see her rehabilitated and enjoying that great prosperity 
which is only a ])rophecy of her greater prosperity in the days 
to come, for no man saw with clearer vision that the develop- 
ment of the natural resoin'ces of the South is only in its begin- 
ning and will ere long make it the marvel of the world. 

He was a modest, unassuming, Christian gentleman of the 
old school, justly proud of his career, both civil and military. 
His countr>'nien are jiroud of him and warmly cherish the 
memory of this veteran soldier and .statesman. 

Except for the local reference, the fine lines of good Sir 
Walter Scott are applicable to General B.\te: 

Soldier, re.st ! thy warfare o'er. 

Sleep the .sleep that knows not Ijrcaking ! 
Dream of battled fields no more. 

Days of danger, nights of waking. 
In our isle's enchanted hall, 

Hands unseen thy couch are strewing. 
Fairy .strains of music fall, 

Every .sense in slumber dewing. 
Soldier, re.st ! thy warfare o'er. 
Dream of fighting fields no more ; 
Sleep the sleej) that knows not breaking, 
Morn of toil, nor night of waking. 

No rude sound shall reach thine ear. 

Armour's clang, or war-steed champing. 
Trump nor pibroch summon here 

Mustering clan, or squadron tramiiing. 
Yet the lark's .shrill fife may come, 

At the daybreak from the fallow, 
And the bittern sound his drum. 

Booming from the sedgy shallow. 
Ruder .sounds shall none be near. 
Guards nor warders challenge here. 
Here's no war-steed's neigh and champing. 
Shouting clans or squadrons stamping. 



Address of Mr. R/c/iardson, of Alabama 103 



Address of Mr. Richardson, of Alabama 

Mr. vSpeaker: I believe that it can l)e truthfully said that Sen- 
ator William B. Bate will be classed by his countrymen with 
the highest type of American manhood and true citizenship. 
That tribute he justly earned in the walks of his private and 
public life. In the varied and nuiltiplied duties devoh-ing 
upon him from the time he entered as a private .soldier in the 
war with Mexico to the hour that his life went out in this city, 
on the 9th day of March, 1905, the guiding and controlling prin- 
ciple of his life was devotion to dutj-. During that long period 
of more than sixty years the people among whom he was born 
and reared again and again conferred upon him the .highest 
civic honors within their gift. When the dark clouds of recon- 
struction were lifting and pas.sing away, the people of the great 
State of Tennessee by common consent turned to him to bear 
their banner for the great office of governor of his State. 
It was a time when a strong, hone.st, and brave man was needed 
at the helm. He triumphed, as he desen^ed to do. and his 
wise, able, and honest administration of that high and honor- 
able trust stands memorable in the annals of his State. 

His administration was characterized in ever\' official policy 
and act by the unmistakable, living, and ever-present indi\-idu- 
ality of the man. As a member of the United States vSenate. 
Senator B.\TE stood with the foremost for purity of character, 
the maintenance of public and official lionest}-, and unfaltering 
frankness in the expression of his honest convictions. Upon 
great public questions that he had studied and investigated no 
sentimental policy could influence him to refrain from express- 
ing his honest opinions. He loved the truth, and his very 



I04 Memorial Addressvs: Wil/iaiii /?. Bate 

nature revolted at evasion, deceit, and hypocrisy, coming from 
whatever source it might. Like all strong, broad, and able 
men, Senator Hatk was patient and tolerant of the views differ- 
ing from his, ami in his intercourse with his fellow-men was 
ever courteous, refined, and gentle. 

Mr. Speaker, others better informed than I am will speak 
to-day on the career and life of Senator Batk as a citizen, his 
ability in the legislative and executive positions that he filled; 
but it is his record, his cUaracter, his life as a Confederate sol- 
dier that equally challenges love and admiration, and about 
which I desire chiefly to speak. 

I do not hesitate, Mr. Speaker, to .say that midst the hosts 
of honored, noble, and illustrious men who led our Southern 
armies in the great civil war none was more devoted in heart, 
mind, .soul, and l.)ody to the cause of the vSouth than was Gen. 
WiLLi.VM B. B.VTK. In the early days of iS6i, when the 
ominous nuUterings of the fearful struggle that was soon to 
follow between the sections of the South and the North, he 
promptly offered his services to his people, the people among 
whom he had been born and reared, the South that he loved, 
and entered the Confederate army as a private. 

Without the aid of official help, but depending alone upon 
his courage, splendid judgment, and sagacity of leadership on 
tlie field of battle, he rose rapidly from the ranks to the high 
position of major-general of volunteers. He bore a conspicu- 
ous and honored part in all of our great battles under Albert 
,Sidne>' Johnston, Hood, Bragg, and Joseph E. Johnston. 

He was the companion and close friend of the immortal Pat. 
Cleburne. When the future historian, who has yet to write 
a true history of our great civil war, and give credit to whom 
credit belongs, and paint in living words the honor, glory, and 
courage of the brave men who wore the gray and the lihie, he 



Address of Mr. Ric/iardsoii, of Alabama 105 

will pause, then rest, when he traces the immortal trail of 
death — the march of Bate's Tennessee regiment — as it surged 
and reeled around the fire-crested summit of vSnodgrass Hill, 
on the river of death, Chickamauga, leaving more than 67 per 
cent of men dead and.dying on tlie field. Such dauntless cour- 
age, such reckless disregard of death, such willingness to gi\-e 
life for country was never surpassed on any battlefield. I can 
not, Mr. Speaker, on an occasion like this, follow this great 
man in all the walks of his noble life — .soldier, statesman, and 
patriot — but it is sufficient to .say, in part memory of his match- 
le.ss career in the army of the South, tliat in the last dying 
battle of the Confederacy, animated by the same unquenchable 
spirit of love and patriotism for the cause of the South that 
led him to volunteer in the earliest days of the war, General 
B.\TE, wounded, and with his crutch in his hand, led the last 
charge on the enemy's lines at Benton\-ille, X. C. 

Truly it can be said of him, Mr. Speaker, that he greeted 
the first bright cheering rays of the rising .sun of the Con- 
federacy, and after four long, bloody, and dark years, the 
lingering rays of that .setting sun played mournfully upon him 
and his brave men as they made the last charge on the enemy's 
line. ■ 

Is it any wonder that such a record, such an inspiring and 
ennobling career, should call for the deep love of his Con- 
federate comrades who linger behind him and cause them to 
speak of him in the highest terms of praise? 

Mr. Speaker, it rarely occurs in the life of a man that one 
incident, one event, unfolds his character in vivid and living 
colors. In the early part of our civil war a great convention 
was assembled at Na.shville, Tenn., and after thoughtful and 
patriotic consideration a call was made on General B.vtk to 
leave the field, come home, and accept the office of the gov- 



io6 Mciiiorin! Addresses: ]\'illiani B. Bate 

ernor nf his State. The spirit that gave utterance to his reply 

ranks liini as a patriot whose name ought never to die. 

Said he: 

As a sun of Tennessee and a Southern soldier, I would feel dishonored 
in this hour of trial to quit the Held. * * * I had rather, amid her 
misfortunes, be the defender than to be the governor of Tennessee. 

Sucli sentiments could only emanate from the heart of a 
man noble and grand in the image of his Maker. The world 
has ever bestowed its choicest wreaths of honor and glory upon 
the ])atriot soldier. 

The man who turns his back upon a high, glittering, and 
in\-iting ci\-ic honor, preferring hardships of camj) life and the 
carnage of the battle, to stand with his country in her mis- 
fortunes, is the noblest type of Ciod's creation, and deserves 
the ])raise of his fellow-men. 

\Vhile it is true that General Bath won the highest honors 
and on several occasions received the commendation of his 
superior otficers for gallantry on tlie field of battle, it is also 
true that his example on his return home, under the .sliadows 
of defeat, deserve as nuich praise as when he fearlessly led his 
brave men into the jaws of death. Midst his .stricken, dis- 
heartened, impo\-erislied people he stood as a tower of strength. 
The devastation, the gloom, and the sorrow that greeted him 
from all sides, the cruelty and oppression that marked the days 
of reconstruction in the ,South, never dismayed or subdued his 
proud spirit. He had fought a good fight for a cau.se he loved, 
and in her ruins and ashes the .South was dearer to his heart 
than in its days of glory, wealth, and jiower. 

Repining over that which was lost was no part of his nature. 
To meet and prepare for the future of the South, to restore 
order, law. and peace where lawlessness prevailed, to weld 
acrain the broken links of the Union, and to restore the govern- 



Address of Mr. Richardson, of Alabama 107 

iiient of Tennessee and the States of the South t<:) the hands of 
its white people was the great ambition of liis life. In this 
noble work he steadily labored, and his people followed him as 
a trusted and wise leader. Such an example from such a man, 
under conditions existing at that time, can not now be esti- 
mated or understood as to its real \-alue except b)- those who 
passed through the reign of terror that swept the South in the 
days of reconstruction. 

I do not hesitate to say that it was the example and wise 
counsel of such southern leaders as General B.\te that stimu- 
lated and encouraged the brave and matchless soldiers of the 
South, who surrendered their flag under the orders of their 
great commanders — General Lee, at Appomattox, and General 
Johnson, at Bentonville — to submit peacefully to the wicked 
and studied usurpations and cruelties of the " Freedmen's 
Bureau" and the pillaging army followers, and ga\-e their 
hearts and hands to the restoration of the Union. 

A great and difficult work was before these brave men, and 
nobly and grandly have they accomplished it. 

It should be a profound satisfaction to the friends and ad- 
mirers of this true and beloved .son of the South that God 
spared his life long enough for him to realize that kind, cor- 
dial, and friendh- relations between the States of the North 
and the South for which he had so unselfishly and patriotically 
labored by precept and example had been fully restored, and 
that he died a citizen of a highly prosperous and reunited 
country. 

Quite fifty years ago General B.\tk led to the marriage 
altar in my home town, the city of Huntsville, Ala., Miss 
Julia Peete, one of the most accomplished and charming 
daughters of the .South. Reared midst the endearing a.sso- 
ciations of culture, refinement, and hospitality of a typical 



loS Memorial Addrcxscs: ]\'illiai)i /?. Bate 

southern home before the war, this noble woman crowned 
and blessed her chivalrous husband and her home with a 
purity and tenderness of love and devotion that makes home 
the hallowed altar of domestic happiness, love, and peace. 

The people that I hax'e the honor to represent on this floor — 
embracing the \'alley of the Tennessee — have watched and fol- 
lowed General P)ATK with ])ride in his distinguished and hon- 
ored career. We ha\-e rejoiced in his \-ictories and his death 
brought sorrow to our hearts and tears to our c>-es. \'iew him, 
Mr. Speaker, as we may, in either of the walks of life — civil 
or militarv — in ])eace or in war, in \ictory or in defeat, as a 
Senator of the United States or as the chief executive of his 
State, we find in Senator Wii.i.i.VM B. B.vTE an unfaltering 
devotion to his convictions of duty, a quiet and submissive 
endurance under the trials of adversity — brave and tender — a 
character for purit>- and hone.sty untouched by the taint of 
suspicion, which entitles his memory to l.)e held dear in the 
hearts of his countrvmen. 



Address of Mr. James, of Kcntncky 109 



Address of Mr. James, of Kentucky 

Mr. Speaker: ^^'e are told that the true measurement of the 
giant oak can be best taken when it is down. So it is with the 
life of a great man. In the presence of death all men are im- 
partial ; then envy has no hope to actuate it : malice has no 
motive to inspire it ; ambition sees no genius in its path ; history 
then becomes the unbiased witness. Judged by every standard, 
whether in the full glow of political life or at the journey's 
end, Senator William B. Bate has performed with marked 
abilit5' in every position to which he has been chosen. 

Gen. William B. Bate was four times elected to the Senate 
from the State of Tennessee, and after having just entered upon 
his fourth term, on March 9, 1905, he was called to his last 
reward. Seventy-nine years of age, having served his country 
faithfully, and having distinguished him.self in peace and in 
war, he laid down his burden with a name as spotless as his 
.service had been. He typified in character, in courage, and in 
chivalry the Old South. He believed the Union was made up 
of equal States with equal rights, and that those rights which 
were not plainly and specially given by the Constitution to 
the Union were specially re.served to the States. He was a 
lover of local self-government. He believed truly that the 
government governed best that governed least. He had confi- 
dence in the wisdom of the people; he did not believe in power 
being placed in a few hands, and he believed, too, that govern- 
ment amongst men derived its just powers from the consent of 
the governed, and therefore he opposed to his uttermost impe- 
rialism, whether it was the imperialism of England over the 
Boers, or whether it was the imperialism of America o\-ei the 



no Mcii/on'n/ Adi^rcsscs: ]]'illiaiu B. Bate 

Philippines. He would raise in front of the marching arm.v of 
either the declaration that govennnents can exist among men 
only by the consent of the governed. He was a Democrat in 
the true meaning of that term, loyal always to his party 
nominee and faithful to its platform declarations. His whole 
official life was an exemplification of true Democracy. Ten- 
nessee has furnished main- great men to the Republic. It 
furnished Jackson, who dro\-e the Biddies out of power, who 
led the triumphant armies at New Orleans; furnished Polk, 
who defeated Clay; furnished Andrew Johnson, who succeded 
to the Presidency upon the death of Lincoln. General Bate 
had the courage of Jackson, the brilliancy of Polk, and the 
adroitness of Johnson. Tennessee and the Republic may say 
of him that indeed "Ulysses has gone and left none l)ehind 
him strong enough to bend his bow. ' ' 

General B.\TE was a Confederate soldier, and whether at 
Chickamauga or Snodgrass Hill or at Missionary Ridge, com- 
manding Breckinridge's old division, or at bloody Shiloh, he 
was the same dashing, courageous soldier. In the last-named 
battle he was wounded, but holding to his crutch and for- 
getting his pain in the glory of battle, he rode up and down 
the line cheering the boys m gray. Fighting with that vast 
army of courageous southerners for the Constitution as the 
fathers taught it to them, he exhibited a courage and daring 
that finds no counterpart in the history of the world's wars. 
No panegyric pronounced by me could add to the glorious 
history of this devoted army in conflict for courage, for if all 
that constitutes that term in our language should be lost, 
the name of the Confederate soldier would .stand for it all. 

Scarred by the battles of the civil war, wounded by the bul- 
lets of the enemy, with a broken heart and almost broken 
hopes. General Bate laid down the flag of the Confederacy 



Address of Mr. James, of Kcntuckv in 

and took up the Stars and Stripes and jieided to none in his 
loyalty to his Republic's flag. He folded the conquered ban- 
ner, with its myriad recollections, with his manifold love, 
stained with his blood and consecrated with his tears, and laid 
it to rest. And then he turned his face to the stars upun his 
own, his country's flag, and knew nothing but devotion for it. 
Those who fought with him, who luved and followed him, are 
being swiftly gathered to the home to which he was called. 
When Tennessee called him to be go\-ernor during the conflict 
between the States, by the army camp fire he read her call, 
amid the roar of the cannon and the scream of the .shells and 
tire gleam of the bayonet. He said to his State that as nuicli 
as he loved her and the great honor of presiding as her chief 
executive, his heart was with the boys in gray, and he refused 
to fonsake what he thought was his duty to those around the 
camp fire while danger everywhere lurked about him. This is 
but an exemplification of the history and life of the man. 

And what shall I say of Tenne.ssee, the dear old Volunteer 
State? How sweet of her people that in the old age of General 
B.VTp; she refused to retire him to private life, but almost at the 
end of life's journey his people reelected him, and the last 
delectable words which touched his ears were those of Tennes- 
see's loyal sons, saying, "Well done, thou good and faithful 
.servant." 

He read b}' the last rays of life's setting sun another conuuis- 
sion from his people. What consolation it nuist have been to 
this faithful old soldier, statesman, and patriot that Tenne.s.see 
refused to drive him out into the night and storiii in his old 
age. In all his service in public life the bony finger of sus- 
picion never was pointed to him. In his life we may .see exem- 
plified the statement of the Good Book, which tells us that "a 
good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving 



112 Memorial Addresses: ]]'illiaiu B. Bale 

favor rather than silver or gold." He was rich in a good 
name, poor in worldly goods, yet he left behind hini a career 
in public life that will shine like a cohunn of light through the 
darkness of corruption and of avarice as a guide to the feet of 
the faithful. 

Truly it may be said of him that — 

He was a friend of truth, of soul sincere, 

In action faithful, in honor clear, 

Who broke no ])roniises, served no private ends. 

Sought no titles, and forsook no friends. 



Address of Mr. Brozvnlou\ of Tennessee 113 



Address of Mr. Brownlow, of Tennessee 

Mr. Speaker: Tennessee has made more history than any 
State in the Republic, except Massachusetts and Virginia. In 
proportion to its population it did more on the field of battle to 
.secure the independence of the United States than did any of the 
thirteen colonies, as Bancroft says substantially in his descrip- 
tion of the battle of Kings Mountain. In our "second war of 
independence" it was the militia of Tennessee under its own 
incomparable Jackson, whose immortal victory at New Orleans 
shed imperishable glory on his State and country and led the 
conqueror of Napoleon to exclaim that "Andrew Jackson was 
the only really great general the United States had produced." 
In 1846, when the Secretary of War, William L. Marcy, called 
upon Governor Aaron V. Brown, of my vState, for three regi- 
ments, its quota of troops, the governor responded tendering 
thirty-six regiments, to which the Secretary replied that "Ten- 
nessee would not be permitted to furnish the entire army for 
the war with Mexico. 

In our deplorable civil war Tennes.see exhibited its martial 
spirit by furnishing its full' quota of .soldiers to both armies, and 
better soldiers the world never saw. If those of the Union 
Army were more successful in achievement, it was because of 
the superb leadership of that Army's greatest generals — Grant, 
Thomas, and Sherman. If Tennessee's Confederate soldiers 
were less successful in battle than were their comrades of the 
Army of Northern Virginia, it was not because they were inferior 
in any respect, but because it was not their fortune to have Lee, 
Jack.son, Longstreet, and Gordon for leaders, while it was their 
misfortune to have an obstinate President take from them a very 
.S. Doc. 403, 59-2 8 



114 Memorial Addresses: Williiiiii B. Bate 

great commander whom the)- all justly idolized — Joseph E. 
Johnston — and ])ut upon them as commanders Bragg and Hood, 
whom President Davis made generals, instead of giving them 
commanders whom God Almighty had made generals. 

And yet, Mr. Speaker, such was the determined courage of 
Tennessee's Confederate soldiers and those of her sister States 
of the South that at Chickamauga the percentage of killed and 
wounded of both Union and Confederate armies was greater 
than was that of any battle of the civil war, despite the fact 
that the heroic men of the Confederate arm}- had no confidence 
in the ability for leadership of their conunander in chief. The 
eagerness and unanimity of Tennesseeans in responding to the 
call to arms have given to their vState the sobriquet of ' ' The 
Volunteer State of the Union," to which my distinguished 
soldier friend from Ohio, General Grosvenor, has appropriately 
added that of "The Battle State of the Union," more decisive 
battles of the civil war having been fought within its borders 
than in any other State. 

That a man sh.oukl have as a soldier excited the admira- 
tion and won the hearts of a people of such martial spirit as 
those of Tennessee, of a vState which has given to the country 
such heroes as Sevier, Jackson, Gaines, Farragut, and Forrest, 
and the winners of Texan independence, Houston and Crockett, 
is of itself the highest attestation of his merit. This the late 
Senator Willi-VM B. Bate did. To my colleagues who were 
of the political school of the lamented Senator I leave the ta.sk 
of reciting the events of his brilliant militar)' career, confining 
nn-,self to the simple .statement that, enlisting as a private sol- 
dier in the Confederate army, he came out of the war a major- 
general, and that when the battle of Chickamauga opened he 
was on crutches from a serious wound ; that despite this 
wound which relieved him from all obligation to engage in that 



Address of Mr. BroicnlozL\ of Tennessee 115 

battle and which disabled him from mounting his horse with- 
out assistance, he gallantly led his division in the thickest of 
the combat, in which he had three horses shot under him and 
in which more men were killed and wounded than in any other 
command of equal number. 

Of the 120,000 gallant men of the Confederate army from 
Tennessee, the only one whose career was more brilliant than 
that of General Bate was that of " the wizard of the saddle," 
lyieut. Gen. N. B. Forrest, who never had a superior as a 
ca\-alry connnander and few equals. Of each it may appro- 
priately be said, as it was of Robert Clive, the conqueror of 
British India, by Prime Minister Pitt, "He was a hea\-en- 
born general." 

That General B.\T]i should have had .so strong a hold on, 
the affection of such a people as those of Teiniessee, with 
stich a record as a soldier, is not surprising. Innnediately 
after the great victory of New Orleans Thomas H. Benton 
predicted that Andrew Jackson would be elected President, for 
the reason, he said, that "the majority of the American people 
love the man who lias the smell of gunpowder on his gar- 
ments;" and to the people of no State is this remark more 
applicable than to those of Tennessee. That General B.\TK 
should have commanded more of the admiration of the people 
of his State than did his comrade in arms, General Forrest, is 
because his civic virtues were worthy of his soldierly. 

The political .school of Hamilton and of "Light Horse" 
Harry Lee, in which I was educated, inculcated other doctrines 
than those held by General Bate, and these arrayed nie not 
only in the ranks of his political opponents, but in those of 
my countrymen who oppo.sed the cause he .so heroicall\- uplield 
in our civil war. As a Repul>lican, I speak of liim as a Dem- 
ocrat of the Calhoun State rights .school in deserved honor with 



Ii6 Memorial Addresses: Jl'il/iani B. Bate 

that school of his party who freely shed his blood in proof of 
the sincerity of his convictions, and as a Confederate soldier 
whose fame was fairly won and has become an imperishable 
chapter in the annals of the g:reat Commonwealth whose com- 
mission as a Senator of the United States he would have borne 
for a longer period than did any of his predecessors had not 
death unfortunately terminated that career before the expira- 
tion of the term to which he had just been elected by an almost 
unanimous vote. 

But the splendid record of General Batk as a leader of men 
on the field of battle was not his only title to the respect and 
admiration of the people of " The Volunteer State." His per- 
sonal and civic virtues were worthy of his skill and courage as 
a .soldier. Of ardent temperament, indomitable will, and zeal- 
ous parti.san.ship, he was po.ssessed of the prejudices and virtues 
which necessarily attach to such natures, but he was capable of 
subordinating these to his inflexible sen.se of honor and ju.stice. 
When his party divided in 1880 on the question of the payment 
in full of Tennessee's debt, General Bate supported the can- 
didate of that wing of his party for governor — Hon. John "\'. 
Wright — who favored preserving the credit of the .State. Later 
during the four years he was governor he impartially and 
sternly enforced the laws and witheringly rebuked the men 
who dared appeal to him on the plea of party service or the 
social connections of the parties to remit the penalties imposed 
by the courts on the cowardly miscreants who carried concealed 
weapons which they murderously used in violation of law. 

One of the most creditable features of his long and honor- 
able life was his opposition to the corrupt machine of his own 
party in Tennessee, which, years ago, enacted an infamous 
election law for the express purpose of leaving nothing to 
chance of making fraud easy at the polls. The evil con.se- 



Address of Mr. Brozvnlotv^ of Tennessee 117 

quences of that infamous law were predicted by General Batk, 
and his predictions have been so completely verified that no 
Democrat in the State who pretends to be honest will justify 
the wholesale frauds on the ballot which have been the invari- 
able concomitant of every election which lias been held under 
its nefarious provisions. To the credit of all the leading and 
influential Democratic newspapers of Tennessee it may be said 
that they denounce this infamously corrupt statute and demand 
its repeal. This corrupt statute was condemned by Senator 
Bate, who would sooner have been defeated for reelection to 
the Senate than to have owed his success to the stuffing of a 
ballot box or the forging of an election return, and his trium- 
phant reelection the last time was achieved over the opposition 
of the political pirates who secured the passage of the law. 
Retribution has overtaken some of the authors and instigators 
of this iniquitous legislation, and the signs of the times indicate 
that it will overtake others of them as soon as a deceived and 
outraged people have the opportunity to put the seal of their 
condenniation upon them. 

Mr. Speaker, death has .stricken from the roll of the Senate 
the name of an incorruptible legislator. His remains lie buried 
under the soil of the State which delighted to honor him for 
more than a quarter of a century. His record as soldier and 
statesman is finished. We turn for a few hours from the dis- 
charge of our ordinary duties to pay this last .sad tribute to his 
memory. He was plain and simple in his manners and tastes. 
In the family, a model .son, husband, father, and brother. In 
the walks of private life, an ideal citizen. In his religious 
views, he was strongly attached to the Baptist faith, and of that 
great church which has done so much for the development, civ- 
ilization, and Christianization of Tennessee he was a consistent, 
worthy member. He was absolutely devoid of duplicity ; he 



it8 Memorial Addresses: William B. Bate 

always spoke the truth ; he was an honest man. vSo thoroughly 
was his reputation in tliat regard established that where he 
was best known his bitterest enemy would not dare insinuate 
that he had ever been guilty of hypocrisy or falsehood in public 
or i)rivate life or of fraud in any business transaction. He was 
firmly of the opinion that personal integrity and political dis- 
honesl>- are aljsoluteh- irreconcilable in the same person, and on 
this conviction he acted throughout his career, as William H. 
vSeward .said John Quincy Adams had. 

Mr. Speaker, the iiualities which I have ascribed to General 
B.iTE may well be emulated by .some of his contemporaries upon 
whom accident or an inscrutable I'rovidence has devolved the 
responsibilities of high ofiicial station. I'pon many of them 
more brilliant gifts have been bestowed. But not of all of them 
can it be said, as of William B. Bate, he was truthful, he was 
honest, he was incorruptible. These are traits which Tennes- 
see has always honored in any American statesman, and as a 
tribute to them, as developed in her soldier Senator, she now 
lays the garlands of her love upon his tomb. 

No Sybarite can %vii; the praise 
Or laurel wreath of story ; 

No calm, but storms for all who climb 
The stern Mont Blanc of glory. 



Address of Mr. Stanley, of Koducky 119 



Address of Mr. Stanley, of Kentucky 

Mr. Spp:aker: It is with unfeigned diffidence that I offer 
here, in the midst of these able and elaborately prepared ad- 
dresses, a spontaneous and almost extempore tribute to that 
soldier and statesman, William B. Bate. 

The passing of this gallant and chivalrous scion of the South 
calls to my mind a scene in which there is strangely mingled the 
elements of pathos and sublimity. A few more days and the 
last sentinel will for the first time have fallen asleep at his post, 
and the last heroic defender of the lost cause will have joined 
his companions upon the nether shore. We see the last line 
broken and shattered, as they pass silently and swiftly west- 
ward, one by one. 

Tran.sfigured in the "golden lightning of the .sunken sun," 
outlined in distinct silhouette against the many-hued splendors 
of a day that is done, they rise before us gray and grand, the 
rear guard of the most gallant band that ever careered o'er field 
of carnage or of glory. To-morrow we shall truly sa>- : 

On Fame's eternal camping ground 

Their silent tents are spread, 
And Glory guards with solemn round 

The bivouac of the dead. 

What men they were — these protectors of the homes, these 
fine exemplars of the chivalry of the South, with their high 
aspirations and modest mien— strange mingling of strength and 
tenderness, of courage and of courtesy. 

It is of Bate, the soldier, I would speak, of Hate, the 
inspiring and perfect exemplar of the highest civilization, not 
of the South onl\-, but of the race. 



I20 Memorial Addresses: iriniaui B. Bate 

We hear iiiucli of the provinciahsm of the vSouth, of a civih- 
zation characteristic of and pecuhar to those antebelhmi days. 
We speak of it with reverence, yet we treat it as a nieniory. 
What were the distinctive and distinguishing elements of that 
civihzation of which Bate was so pecuharly the embodiment? 
In what is it different from to-day? Where is the hne, if hue 
there be, between the old South aud the new? Is it true that 
we have lost something, that we have left something far behind 
us? Is it true that these strangely gracious, knightly, cour- 
teous soldiers as they pass from the scene of action will leave 
no type or trace behind? If true, it is the saddest conunentary 
upon the decadence not of the South only, but of the race. 
What were the characteristics, which the thought and purpose 
of that life which pulsated in every fiber of this dead .soldier's 
being? Dauntless courage, a devotion to duty so serious and 
sacred that it was a religion, a high and changeless reverence 
for woman, an idolatrous love of truth. The.se virtues marked 
the southern man, inspired the southern soldier, and sanctified 
southern life. Were they peculiar to that section south of 
Mason and Dixon's line? Was this their glorious provincialism 
confined to a brief era and a circumscribed section? Nay, 
verily! The deep rooting of these fine sentiments was not a 
growth— it was a heritage. It was the evidence not of section- 
alism, not of provincialism, but of eternal conservatism. If the 
South differed from other sections, it was because other sec- 
tions had departed from the most precious inheritance of their 
fathers, had retrograded, not they. If the South was broader, 
more liberal, or more generous than her neighbors, it was 
because others had allowed their souls to be cramped in the 
narrow channels of fanaticism or of greed. Older than its 
civilization or its faith, these ideals run like a silver thread 
through all the history of the Saxon race, and when history 



x4ddress of Mr. Sta>i/ey, of Kentucky 121 

is lost in the twilight of time, they illiiniine the traditions of 

the rugged worshipers of Thor and Woden in the wilds of 

Sleswick and Friesland. 

Tacitus, who alone among the ancient historians had a close 

personal knowledge of the manners and customs of the Saxons 

in their so-called "barbarism," declared: 

The generals are chosen for their valor * * *. The}' command more 
by warlike example than bj- their authority. To be a prompt and daring 
spirit in battle and to attack in front of the lines is the popular character 
of a chieftain. \\'hen admired for his bravery he is sure to be obeyed. 

Those lines, written in the presence of the Saxon warrior 

and describing a civilization, if civilization I may call it, fifteen 

hundred years older than this, might be appropriately applied 

to that gentle, firm, courageous hero, Robert E. L,ee, whose 

raemor}' we commemorated but yesterday, who in camp was 

the beloved companion and comforter of his devoted followers, 

and in the dread hour of battle inspired them like a god. 

In the heat of the engagement — 

says Tacitus — 

the Saxon warrior hears the shrieks of his wife and the cries of his chil- 
dren. These are the darling witnesses of his conduct, the applauders of 
his valor, at once beloved and valued. 

And how well his wild consort deserved his devotion and 
inspired his courage. 

With one husband, as with one life, one mind, one body, every woman 
is satisfied; in him her happiness is centered; her desires extend no fur- 
ther, and the principle is not only affection for the husband's per.son, 
but reverence for the married state. 

Ah, it was no new tiling, this mixture of strength and ten- 
derness, love and valor, in the midst of his wild environment; 
shut out in the darkness and in the fog, from the presence of 
his God, he worshiped truth as a divinity and woman as a 
goddess. 



122 Mem (I rial Addresses: \Villia»i B. Bate 

Taine, a Frenchman, pays this nnwilhiiK tribute to the Scan- 
dinavian savatje; 

Through all oiitljreaks of primitive brutality gleams obscuiely the grand 
idea of dutv, which is the self-constraint exercised in view of some noble end. 
Marriage was pure amongst them, chastity instinctive. Amongst the Sax- 
ons the adulterer was punished by death; the adultress was obliged to hang 
herself, or was stal)bed by the knives of her companions. The wives of 
the Cimbrians, when they could not obtain from JIarius assurance of their 
chastity, slew themselves with their own hands. They thought there was 
something sacred in a woman; they married but one, and kept faith with 
her. In fifteen centuries the idea of marriage is unchanged amongst 
them. The wife, on entering her husband's home, is aware that she gives 
her-self altogether, "that she will have but one body, one life w^th him; 
that she will have no thought, no desire, beyond; that slie will be the 
companion of his perils and labors; that .she will suffer and dare as 
much as he, both in peace and war." And he, like her, knows that he 
gives himself. Having chosen his chief, he forgets him.self in him, assigns 
to him his own glory, serves him to the death. "He is infamous as long 
as he lives who returns from the field of battle without his chief." It was 
on this voluntary subordination that feudal society was based. Man, in 
this race, can accept a superior, can be capable of devotion and respect. 
Thrown Ijack upon him.self by the gloom and severity of his climate, he 
has discovered moral beauty, while others discover .sensuous beauty. This 
kind of naked brute, who lies all day by his fireside, sluggish and dirty, 
always eating and drinking, whose rusty faculties can not follow the clear 
and fine outlines of poetic forms, catches a glimpse of the sublime in his 
troubled dreams. He does not see it, but simply feels it; his religion is 
already within. * * * His gods are not inclosed in walls; he has no 
idols. What he designates by divine names is something invisible and 
grand, which floats through nature and is conceived beyond nature, a 
mysterious infinity which the sense can not touch, but w^hich " reverence 
alone can appreciate;" and when, later on, the legends define and alter 
this vague divination of natural powers, an idea remains at the bottom of 
this chaos of giant dreams— that the world is a warfare, and heroism the 
greatest excellence. 

Upon that rude ba.se rugged, subhnie, and eternal mediaeval 
chivalry was planted, and to it, as to the Rock of Ages, the 
thought, the aspirations, and the life of the South were anchored. 
Chivalry was its natural result. It was the flower of which 
those simple principles were the root. Civilization and religion 
Ijrought refinement and culture — brought the .sweet amenities 
Qf life — broadened, sanctified, and ennobled the severe fiber of 



Address of Air. Stanley, of Kentucky 123 

the Saxon chief. Follow him through time, see him clad in 
the gay garments of the cavalier, decked in plumes, splendid 
in court and camp, the Sidneys, the Raleighs, the Ruperts still 
retain beneath the gay exterior of a knight-errant the stern 
virtues -of the vScandinavian warrior. 

There never was a time in the history of the Anglo-vSaxon 
race, from the invasion of Great Britain until the .settlement 
of Virginia, that its highest thought, its holiest customs, its 
grandest endeavor were not inspired by those same sentiments 
which we designate "Southern chivalry." 

It was not persecution nor greed for gold that tempted the 

first .settlers of Virginia and the Carolinas to brave the terrors 

and dangers of a trackless and unexplored ocean, or to endure 

the hardships and face the perils of the wilderness and the 

savage. They were filled with the spirit of high adventure; 

they were the lineal sons of the Norse kings, "who had never 

slept under the smoky rafters of a roof; who had never drained 

the ale horn by an inhabited hearth;" who laughed at wind 

and storm and sang: 

The blast of the tempest aids our oars; the bellowing of Heaven, the 
howling of the thunder, hurt us not; the hurricane is our servant and 
drives us whither we wish to go. 

They carried the banners of heraldry and the scepter of 
power, planted them upon the smoky tops of the Blue Ridge, 
and bore them across the fertile fields of Kentuckj- and Tennes- 
see and the undulating, far-stretching plains of the West, till 
at last they were mirrored in the Father of Waters and the 
placid bosom of the Lakes. 

They multiplied in numbers, grew in prosperity and wealth, 
and in a higher and finer civilization. In their hour of ease 
and culture they were the exquisite models of " that generous 
loyalty to rank and sex, that proud submission, that dignified 
obedience, that subordination of the heart which kept alive, 



124 Memorial Addresses: Ulllian! P. Bate 

e\-en in servitude itself, the spirit of an exalted freedom. The 
unboiight grace of life, the cheap defense of nations, the nurse 
of manly sentiment and heroic enterprise. * * * That 
sensibility of principle, that chastity of honor which felt a 
stain like a wound, which inspired courage whil.st it mitigated 
ferocity, which ennobled whatever it touched, and under which 
vice it.self lost half of its evil b\- losing all of its grossness. " 

But they were never enervated by ease or softened by 
civilization; they ne\-er deviated a hair's breadth from the rigid 
rectitude of their fathers; their sons preserved a changeless 
fidelity to duty, and their daughters a chastity as immaculate 
as the snows upon the mountain peaks. 

As illustrati\-e of this fine idea of duty which ran in sun- 
light and shadow through all the life of \Villi.\m B. B.\TE, 
and, as illustrative of its hold upon the race, I would recount a 
touching incident told of the battle of Cressy. It is said that, 
when the gay and festive chivalry of France had dashed 
themselves to pieces against the fixed and immovable English 
columns, when the mailed hand of Edward III had crushed 
into the mire and blood of the ensanguined field the fleur-de- 
lis of France, the l)lind King of Bohemia, unwilling to hear 
the death groans of his friends, unwilling to listen to the 
wail of disaster and defeat, unwilling to survive his com- 
panions, had his horse bound fast and tight to a charger upon 
either side, and between his trusty courtiers, guided by the 
turmoil and thunder of the fight, dashed to death. When 
night came and the pale moon looked down upon 30,000 slain, 
they found three horses standing like silent sentinels and three 
dead riders at their feet, and between his companions, with 
the seal of death upon his blind eyes, lay the brave old King 
of Bohemia. 

A white triplunied crest dappled in blood .still clung to his 
dauntless brow, and on it was inscribed the simple motto " Ich 



Address of Mr. Stanley, of Keiiliicky 125 

dien " — I serve- It thrilled five centuries of English history 
past and rang through a thousand years of civilization yet to 
come. The most martial of England's kings reverently lifted 
that simple crest and placed it, as a deathless laurel, upon the 
brow of his first-born son; and to-day, more precious than 
all the trophies wrung from Poitiers, Agincourt, or Waterloo, 
high above all the bloody swords and battered shields and 
tattered banners taken iu a thousand years of conquest that 
has girded the earth and mastered the sea, old England still 
holds aloft that triplumed crest as the proud insignia of all her 
princes yet unborn and all her uncrowned kings. 

I could write upon the tomb of William B. Bate, with 
truth and with sincerity, the motto of the Prince of Wales and 
the dead Bohemian king, "I serve." One single incident in 
his life portrays in rare and radiant colors his flawless devotion 
to duty. Wounded at Shiloh, his horse shot under him at 
Chickamauga, wounded again before Atlanta, ragged, emaci- 
ated, racked with pain, with pallid face and thin lips set, you 
see that heroic figure on his crutches amid his companions in 
arms. It was at this time that there came to him the .tempting- 
offer of civic honors, of east and wealth and fame. Unsolicited, 
a grateful and trusting people laid at his feet the chief magis- 
tracy of a sovereign State. The old soldier was immovable, set- 
ting his face like a flint toward the foe, whom he knew was 
destined to ultimate victory, he took iu his manly arms his 
wretched companions and sent back to those who would tempt 
him with office or power that message which shall thrill all 
Tennesseans in the centuries yet to come: 

I shall accept no civic honor as long as an enemy of Tennessee dese- 
crates her soil. 

Yonder, in front of the White House, carved from bronze 
that for ages shall defy the wasting tooth of time, is an inspir- 
ing figure — a horse and rider facing the foe, instinct with cour- 



126 A/fiiioria/ Addresses: ]]'illiaiii B. Bale 

age and with life, drinking deliglit of l)attle upon the l)loody 
plains. 

It was not necessary to inscribe upon its base the name of 
Old Hickory. I invoke the genius of sculpture and of art to 
place beside it a companion piece; not an equestrian figure, but 
one bowed and racked with pain, leaning upon a broken crutch, 
covered with the blood and dirt of battle, with his back upon 
honor, wealth, and ease and still facing, with resolute and unfal- 
tering courage, gloom and di.saster, death and defeat. Jackson 
and Bate, fitting companions on the field of fame, twin stars 
in the galaxy of Tennessee's deathless and deified heroes. 

It is true that his dauntless band endured famine and dis- 
aster, wounds and pestilence and death for a lost cause; that 
the flag the>- followed, now furled forever, is a conquered ban- 
ner. But that liainier and its story — 

Suiiy by poets and by .sage.s, 
Shall go soundinjf clown the ages, 
Thoui;h its folds are in the dust. 

It is an unholy cau.se or a weak one that needs the vulgar 
Seal of success. He who perishes in a bad cause is a victim; 
he who dies for a good one, lost though it be, is a ble.ssed 
martyr. Can you try the deathless dead b)- the narrow stand- 
ard of success ? If the laurel must always crown the hero's 
brow, we shall leave Hannibal at Zama, Napoleon at Waterloo, 
Columbus in prison, and Latimer at the stake. Proudly and 
sadly — 

I sing the hymn of the conquered, who fell in the battle of life. 

The hymn of the wonnded, the beaten, who died overwhelmed in the 

strife ; 
Not the jubilant song of the victors, for whom the resounding acclaim 
Of nations was lifted in chorus, wlu)se brows wore the chaplet of 

fame. 
But the h^-mn of the low ami the humble, the weary, the broken in heart. 
Who strove and who failed, acting bravely a silent and desperate part ; 



Address of Mr. Slniilfy, of Kentucky 12/ 

Whose youth bore no flower on its branclies, whose hopes burned in ashes 

away, 
From whose hands sHpped the prize the>- had i;rasped at, who stood at the 

dying of day 
With the wreck of their life all around them, unpitied. unheeded, al<)ne. 
With Death swoopinj; down o'er their failure, and all but their faith 

overthrown. 
While the voice of the world shouts its chorus, its piean for those who 

have won. 
While the trumpet is sounding triinnphant, and high to the breeze and 

the sun 
Glad banners are waving, hands clapping, and hurrying feet 
Thronging after the laurel-crowned victors, I stand on the field of defeat, 
In the shadow, with those who are fallen and wounded and dying, and 

then 
Chant a requiem low, place my hand on their pain-knotted brows, breathe 

a prayer. 
Hold the hand that is helpless, and whisper, "They only the victory win 
Who have fought the good fight, and have vanquished the demon that 

tempts us within ; 
Who have held to their faith unseduced by the prize that the world holds 

on high ; 
Who have dared for a high cause to suffer, resist, fight — if need be, to die." 
Speak, History, who are life's victors? Unroll thy long annals, and .say 
Are they those whom the world called the victors — who won the success 

of a day? 
The martvrs or Nero? The Spartans, who fell at Thermopylai's tryst. 
Or the Persians and Xerxes? His judges or Socrates? Pilate or Christ? 



128 Memorial Addresses: William B. Bate 



Address of Mr. Lamb, of Virginia 

Mr. Speaker : On this Sabbath day we turn from the l)usy 
scenes of life to the contemplation of death. We stand weak, 
powerless, and appalled before the last enemy, our very souls 
echoing the thoughts that thrilled the heart of the poet who 
described the last hours of the brave Greek : 

Come to the bridal chamber, Death ; 

Come to the mother's, when she feels 
For the first time her firstborn's breath ; 

Come when the blessed seals 
That close the pestilence are broke, 
And crowned cities wail its stroke ; 
Come in consumption's ghastly form. 
The earthquake shock, the ocean stonn ; 
Come when the heart beats high and warm 

With banquet song and dance and wine ; 
And thou art terrible— the tear. 
The groan, the knell, the pall, the bier; 
And all we know or dream or fear 

Of agony are thine. 

William B. Bate was a soldier of two wars, a patriot, a 
distinguished lawyer, a pure and able .statesman, and a Chris- 
tian gentleman. 

Devoted to his Southland and to his high ideals of duty, he 
never hesitated to give his time, his talents, and, if need be, 
lay down his life for the right as he saw it. A striking 
instance of his devotion to duty and high principles was shown 
in 1863, when, though racked with pain and shattered by 
wounds, he declined the honor and comparative ease and lux- 
ury of the governorship of Tennessee to remain in the army, 
.saying : 

As a son of Tennessee and a southern soldier I would feel dishonored 
in this hour of trial to quit the field. No, sirs ; while an armed foe 



Address of Mr. Lamb^ of I'irginia 129 

treads our soil and I can fire a shot or draw a blade I will take no civic 
honor. I had rather, amid her misfortunes, be the defender than the 
governor of Tennessee. 

Rareh' have the marked characteristics of any man been so 
clearly portraj'ed in so few words. These were no idle senti- 
ments; they were this man's early conceived principles, ad- 
hered to by him through sunshine and storm, through adver- 
sity and prosperity, to the close of a long and distinguished 
life. 

A native of Sumner County, Tenn., he volunteered as a pri- 
vate in the Mexican war, in May, 1846, in Company F, Fourth 
Louisiana Infantry, and served with courage and fidelity in 
Mexico. In August, 1846, his company and regiment were 
mustered out, and he received an honorable discharge as a 
private. 

He afterwards attended the law school at Lebanon, Tenn., 
and shortly after completion of his studies he was elected pros- 
ecuting attorney for his judicial district, discharging the duties 
with marked energy and ability. 

A strong States-rights Democrat, he was an elector on the 
Johu C. Breckinridge Presidential ticket. 

Imtnediately after the bombardment of Fort Sumter he ad- 
vocated sece.ssion by Tennessee, and on her call for State troops 
volunteered as a private, was shortly made captain of his com- 
pany, and, a little later, colonel of his regiment. So conspicu- 
ous was his gallantry and efficiency that he was honoraljly 
mentioned b}- Generals Cleburne and Hardee, and on October 3, 
1S62, he was promoted to brigadier-general. 

The Eufaula Battery under Bate fired the first gun on Fri- 
day evening at Chickamauga and the last gun on Sunday eve- 
ning, and the war maps show that Bate led his men that day 
farther to the front than any other man. In this engagement 
Bate's brigade entered the fight with 1,055 niuskets, and had 
S. Doc. 403, 59-2 9 



130 Mnnor/a/ Addresses: ]\'illiai)i B. Bate 

killed and wuunded 607 men. Every field officer in his bri- 
gade, except two or three, was either killed or wounded. After 
the battle President Davis followed in the track where Bate 
and his men had fought, and in less than thirtj- daj-s Brigadier- 
General Bate of infantry was offered a major-general's com- 
mi.s.sion of cavalry. 

Many times he was severely wounded, and each time returned 
to active duty at the earlie.st moment he was fit for service. 

For a more brilliant record for gallantry and efficiency and 
those .sterling qualities that make our greatest soldiers we 
would search in vain. More love for his Southland had no 
man; none submitted to sacrifice and danger more cheerfully 
or followed the path of duty more strictly. Ability of the high- 
est, ideals of the loftiest, an unstained sword, and a spotless 
character, is it any wonder that Tennessee delighted to honor 
her gifted and noble .son ? 

He was no le.ss conspicuous as a state.sman than he was as 
a soldier. He served his State in peace with the same fidelity 
he had shown in war. He was defeated for the United States 
Senate by Andrew Johnson in 1S70 by one vote. 

Elected governor of Tennessee in 1S82 and reelected in 18S4. 
Elected to the United States Senate in 1S87 and reelected in 
1893, i^oy- a"d i9'-'5- He contracted pneumonia on March 4, 
1905, at the inauguration ceremonies, from which he died. 

His public and pri\-ate life was exemplary; his military rec- 
ord a brilliant one. An able statesman, a consistent Christian, 
a noble citizen has entered on sleep. 

Tennessee may well mourn and this House well honor this 
distinguished soldier, patriot, lawyer, and statesman, for it can 
be well said of him that he was indeed both " great and good." 

In the death of vSenator B.\TE another of the brave soldiers 
of forty years ago has answered the last summons and joined 
the great majority. 



Address of ^/r. Lamb, of llrf^iiiia 131 

In the Fifty-fifth Congress we had thirty-two ex-Confederates 
in this House and sixteen in the Senate. This Congress num- 
bers eight in the former and twelve in the latter. The3' are 
falling almost as rapidly as they fell in battle. The brave men 
whom they met in conflict, and by whose deeds of valor the\' 
well measured their manhood and chivalry, are falling at the 
rate of 1,000 a month. 

Our deceased friend and colleague was a conspicuous figure 
in an army that has been rarel}-, if ever, equaled for valor, self- 
sacrifice, and devotion to duty. 

The principles for \\ hich they fought and the righteousness 
of their cause is being recognized more and more by the world's 
best minds as the years pass by. It will not be many years 
before thoughtful men everywhere will be saying that po.ssibly 
after all it would have been better for constitutional govern- 
ment and human liberty had the principles contended for in 
that struggle been established and maintained. 

It is impo.ssible to contemplate the passing away of these Con- 
federates without calling to mind the conditions after their 
defeat that tried even more than war their courage and forti- 
tude. We search the histories in vain for a parallel case to 
theirs. In this era of good feeling we do not like to dwell upon 
the helpless and almost hopeless condition of the southern 
.soldiers and their families after Appomatto.x. Under good laws 
well administered it would have been a herculean task to restore 
their fallen fortunes. That they succeeded under all the evils 
of the worst legislation that ever affected a people is simply a 
miracle, and stamps them as the best, bravest, and truest men 
that have ever lived in all the tide of time. 

The philo.sophical historian of the future will tell the wonder- 
ful story of their achievements in peace, ,'ind our children's 
children will set it to their credit as equal, if not surpassing, 
the victories they had won in war. 



132 Memorial Aildnsscs: William B. Bate 

Before the last old soldier joins his comrades on the other 
side he will see his beloved Southland stronger in material 
resources and richer per capita than any part of the Union. 

Treating the character of mir deceased colleague as a type of 
the Confederate soldier, let nie present this thought for the con- 
sideration of my colleagues and the friends of the deceased, as 
well as the reading public. The southern soldiers of the civil 
Avar were men of faith. They were raised in a period when 
faith was emphasized by the mothers of the South. The most 
monientnus period for the South was from about 1S40 to 1S60. 
The character of the .southern soldier was formed by their 
mothers chiefl\- during that jieriod. It was a period of great 
prosperity and the fathers were making money. The wealth 
they then accumulated prolonged the unequal struggle for four 
years. The sons went to war strong in faith — not an ideal 
faith, mind you — not perfect, but .sound and strong. Witness, 
if you will the revivals in the Confederate army. It was won- 
derful. The strongest in faith remained to the last. The 
gentlest are always the bra\'est. They held many weak-hearted 
and weak-minded to their part by the powerful influence of 
example. Then those of most faith were often the first to fall. 
Death loves a shining mark, both in war and jieace. We missed 
them daily and often said, "This can not last; all will be 
killed." But man\- returnetl. They and their .sons have made 
this Southland to bloom as a ro.se. 

They have set an example of faiti; that has been an inspira- 
tion and uplift to theii fellow-citizens of this Republic. The 
Confederate soldier was an optimist during the war. He has 
been one since. He lived on faith and he fought with faith. 
Unfortunately many of them are living on faith alone now. In 
part, through his example, an atmo.sphere of faith has been 
created in our countr>'. This faith has been quickened b\' 



Address 0/ Mr. Lamb, of Virginia 133 

science, literature, and poetry, all drawing inspiration from the 

Father and His Word. Could our colleague wire us from the 

spirit world to-day he would say with Browning: 

God's in his heaven, 
All's right with the world. 

Or from Death in the Desert: 

I say the acknowledgment of God in Christ, 
Accepted by the reason, solves for thee 
All questions in the earth and out of it. 
And has so far advanced thee to be wise. 

Or from the best illustration of faith ever written, he would 

give us this from In Memoriam: 

Strong Son of God, immortal love; 

■Whom we, that have not seen Thy face, 

B}- faith, and faith alone, embrace. 
Believing where we can not prove. 



134 Memorial Addresses: ]]'illiajii B. Bare 



Address of Mr. De Armond, of Missouri 

Mr. Speakek: This is an occasion for speaking words of 
soberness and truth concerning a departed friend. It is so 
much a characteristic of our people and time to exaggerate 
in praise, and possibh- to blame too much, that one of the 
most difficult accomplishments is to measure accurately a 
man's character and work and to express in terms of sobriety 
and truthftilness the estimate formed. 

General Bate, as we knew him and as others before 
us knew him, was a man of high character and heroic pur- 
pose. He was a man of undoubted honesty and courage, a 
man who, unlike a large majority of us. had his own views 
of things and measured ami directed his own course of 
conduct in accordance with those views. Most of us, chame- 
leon like, take on the hues of our surroundings and change 
from time to time as they change. There are a few who 
seem to have an inner controlling life of their own, which 
colors things about them instead of taking color from objects 
and incidents with which they are brouglit into contact Most 
of us in our little vo\-age through life hug the shore and forget 
the stars, and so are guided or mi.sguided by the weak near- 
by lights that shine dimly through the fog. 

There are a few who .seem to steer by the pole star, who 
get their light fnun the distance, beyond the mists, a light 
that, unvarying, faints not, changes not; and through the years 
of life, be they few or be they man\-, their bark is steered in 
a steady course by a fixed, unfailing li.ght. General B.\TE 
seemed to be a man of that kind. 

A soldier in the Mexican war, as a young man he shouldered 



Address of Mr. Dc Armoiid, of Missouri 135 

his musket to go to distant fields of carnage and glory in the 
heroic day of a generation now gone. He illustrated, as hun- 
dreds of others did upon many a bloody field in far Mexico, the 
heroic qualities which characterized him and characterized the 
American soldier of that day, and, as we think, characterize 
the American soldier of every day. He made his wa>- in civil 
life honorably, studiously, and courageously, having fixed prin- 
ciples and a steady hold upon them. When the warning notes 
of the great strife between the States came, when the storm 
long brewing broke, and the fateful bugles stirred tlie martial 
spirit of a proud, brave, confident people, it was natural that 
he, as it was natural that his neighbors also, should volunteer, 
and did volunteer, to fight under the banner of the stars and 
bars. 

It would be surprising if he had not been a good .soldier in 
that trying civil-war time, because he had given evidence and 
promise of the posse.s.sion of the qualities necessary to make a 
good .soldier. It was a time when the chivalry of the South, 
the manhood of the South, the courage and devotion and sac- 
rifice of the South were challenged for all they were worth. 
Saying nothing — and here is not the time to say it — as to the 
causes of the war, or whether the war might have been avoided, 
or who was most at fault, or who was most in the right, the 
real test put up to the .southern people was that of meeting at 
the threshold of home an invading force, a hostile army — an 
army of their brethren, it 's true, but brethren in arms warring 
against them. That brought out, as it necessarily would bring 
out in that age or in any age of our country under any circum- 
stances, the fighting forces and heroism of the old vSouth. 

General B.\TE was not an exceptional man in that great con- 
test. There were few exceptional men in it. It was a contest 
in which nearly all were heroes, some in humble position in 



136 Mcuiorial Addresses: J J '///id 11/ B. Bate 

the ranks, charging with the bayonet, resisting the bloody 
onslaught; some in the garb of officers and with sword in hand; 
but in general it was a warfare of heroes, and the man who 
was not a hero in the strife was the exceptional man. This 
man of whom we speak to-day bore hintself well in that war, as 
so many hundreds, so many thousands and tens of thousands of 
others, did. That he was sincere and that he was honest, that 
he was de\-oted to duty as he saw it, he gave, as so man}- others 
gave, the highest and final evidence, the conclusive proof, put- 
ting up his life as a risk, as a stake of tlie contest, and offering 
it a ready forfeit for success and against failure. 

Shattered and broken in the conflict, wounded, .sore, and 
bleeding, he still clung to his standards and clung to his sense 
of duty; still braved the dangers and the horrors of the battle- 
field. It was grand and heroic; it marked the character of a 
man made of the stern, sturdy stuff that is not exceptional, but 
rather characteristic of the American citizen. After the war, 
after the bloody strife had ended, after the cau.se was indeed a 
lost cause, lost forever, after the old Stars and Stripes again 
waved in triumph over the land. General Bate addressed him- 
self, as so many thousands of others did, to the duties and cares 
and responsibilities of civil life, under sad circumstances, when 
everything was trying, when most things were depres.sing, and 
when but little was encouraging or inspiring. That in the 
period of rehabilitation following the war he acquitted him.self 
bravely and well is undoubtedly true, aud in speaking this 
truth we are speaking in honor of him and of those who .shared 
the burdens and the cares, and, finally, the triumphs of those 
3'ears. 

It was perfectly natural that General B.vte should be honored 
after the war by his people, as he was honored, in being made 
go\-ernor of a proud vState and .Senator in one of the greatest 



Address of Mr. Dc Arniond, of Missouri 137 

legislative bodies known to civilized man. That he acquitted 
himself well in these official stations is a credit to him, and no 
surprise to those who knew him. The South has honored her 
heroes, and has loved to honor them. There is, however, still 
left by the war that sentimt-nt which prevails somewhere and 
manifests itself now and again, and that, not in the South, but 
.somewhere else does put a certain kind of handicap upon the 
man who cast in his lot with the lost cause, and who in the 
terrible war wore the garb of gray, or who is a dutiful son of 
the South. Surelj- the South has shown a loyalty and devotion 
to the men who stood by her and fought for her in the dark 
and trying days of '61 to '65. These old heroes, as also these 
who fought against them, are fast passing away. The great 
majority are already numbered with the dead, and those who 
still linger are advancing in years and soon will pass over the 
great mystic river that all of us must cross. North, South, 
East, and West, as we get farther and farther from the liitter 
memories of the war, and as we paint in brighter colors and 
dwell in more loving phrase and more kindly thought upon its 
many glorious deeds, they are honored and revered more and 
more, whether they wore the blue or the gray. Only yesterday, 
all over the Southland, at many places in the North, and in lands 
beyond the seas, the memory of a southern soldier, one of the 
greatest men, not only of our own country and age, but of all 
countries and all ages, was strikingly honored in the celebra- 
tion, in solemn and glorious form, of the one hundredth 
anniversary of his birth. 

It is very difficult to .speak of the living justly, kindly, and 
bravely. It is even more difficult to speak of the dead as real 
facts, tempered by mercy and charity, and yet guided and 
directed by courage and honesty, would suggest. As we come 
to the portals of the grave, as we bend over the bier of the 



138 Memorial Addresses: William B. Bate 

departed, as we lintjer about the mound covered with flowers 
under which rests him who was but no longer is of this world, 
judgment seems to surrender control, moderation to give way 
to extravagance, and we too often lose ourselves in an infini- 
tude of meaningless phrases which sound and roll but signify 
nothing. Of this man it can be .said — and if he could hear 
what we are sax'ing; if it were possible, as it may be, for him 
to revisit these .scenes and to know this afternoon what we are 
doing, I believe it would be pleasing to him to hear us in sin- 
cerity speak it of him — that he was a sturdy, honest, manly 
man ; not the greatest man who ever lived, not the man upon 
whom ought to be jiiled the most exuberant utterance and the 
loftiest sounding words that our language may afford, but one 
who may lie s])oken of honestly and inodestl\' and moderately 
as a man of the conmion people, honest to the core, true to 
principle and to friends and to duty; a man who hewed his 
way through life without asking odds of any, who never hesi- 
tated to strike when it was a duty to strike, and who never 
inflicted a needless hardship or a wrong upon any man con- 
sciously or knowingly. 

We can say of him in moderation things which can be said 
truthfnlh' of very few of us, and those things are words of 
praise — a good man, a true man. a brave man, a reliable friend 
and a faithful public servant, honest in the relations of public 
life and private life, ready to concede to others all that he 
asked for him.self, demanding for himself nothing but what he 
regarded as his right ; standing sturdily, whatever the odds or 
whatever the circumstances, where he thought duty required 
him to stand ; opposing what he thought ought to be oppo.sed, 
and forwarding as far as he could what he thought ought to be 
advanced. This is a noble type of a sturdy manhood; this is 
a man out of the setting of the old age; a man who grew up in 



Address of Mr. Dc Armoitd, of Missouri 139 

the pioneer days, who was discipHiied and strengthened and 
developed in the hard times of the frontier, where the sturdy 
virtues shine, when the ornamentation of which we know so 
much to-day was absent, when men were esteemed for what 
tliey were and not so much for what they appeared to be, or 
for what the adornments of wealth could add or what the 
blandishments of influence or power might give them for their 
brief day. 

This man grew up in the wilds among a sturdy and heroic 
people. He was one of them. Their characteristics were his 
characteristics. He illustrated through his life just what he 
was. It was easy to know what he thought upon any ques- 
tion. It was easy, once you knew him, to anticipate what he 
would do in any particular emergency. He was not a man 
who sought to display all the attractive qualities that he pos- 
sessed. He never sought to magnify himself or exploit himself. 
He was ever ready to hear the call of duty; but he never 
pu.shed himself forward; he was a plain, sul)stantial, reliable, 
good man; a thoroughgoing, conscientious, faithful, devoted 
public servant; absolutely honest, incorruptible: a man for 
whom the blandishments of power had no charm, a man who 
never was affected by the frowns of those who might be above 
him, and never was swerved from an>- duty of his post liy the 
sycophancy of those below him, who desired to accomplish 
something through him. 

Mr. Speaker, the greatest thing about a man after all prob- 
ably is the essence of real character. Now and then, and 
indeed frequently, you meet charms and graces and power of 
intellect. There are always to be found in the broad walks 
and in the narrow paths of life, everywhere, at .ill times, the 
excellent virtues that belong to good-fellowship and home, a 
kindly .spirit and lovable disposition, the sturdy unconii)laining 



140 Memorial Addresses: William B. Bate 

courage and patience with which burdens are borne, a modest}- 
which is capti\'ating; but seldom, oil, so seldom, is there com- 
bined, as there was condjined in that man of whom I spoke a 
moment ago and whose memorj' now is a world memory, whose 
story is the story of the ages, whose example is for all time, 
that consummation and sublimation that gathers together all 
of perfection as nearly as it is possible in human form to find it, 
all of the graces and charms, all the strength, moderation, and 
restraint, all the breadth and generosity of the ideal yet 
real man. 

Of course I speak of that rare man, Lee, of whom they spoke 
yesterday and last night — the man whose name is ringing down 
the aisles of time and whose memory will be as shining an 
example for thousands of years as it is to-day, aye, ten thou- 
sand years from to-day, if there be no hiatus in history, as it 
is now ; of that grand old chieftain under whom General Bate 
fought with dauntless courage, who was not only great on the 
battlefield, but great in the council and transcendentally great 
in the elements of manhood and all things that go to illustrate 
the character of the gentlest, proudest, loftiest, noblest ,iOul 
that our God in his wisdom, in the ages that have gone and \\\ 
the time that is, ever breathed into one solitary human being. 

Speaking of these sturdy qualities of General Bate, one is 
reminded almost irresi.stibly of the magnificent personality, of 
the matchless (jualities, of the human completeness of his great 
commaniler. The\' have crossed over the river ; they are gone 
to the other side ; and the more we dwell upon them and the 
more we pattern after their virtues and their excellencies the 
l)etter for us while we live and the better for our memories 
after we are gone. 



Address of Mr. Rol>iiiso>i, of Arkansas 141 



Address of Mr. Robinson, of Arkansas 

Mr. Speaker: We have assembled to commemorate the life, 
the character, and public services of Senator William B. Bate. 
Arkansas joins with her sister States in expre.ssing a sense of 
appreciation for the virtues of that faithful, favored, gifted son 
of Tennessee, who moves no more among the living. 

From a consideration of his long, eventful life, crowned with 
every honor human love could give and fruitful of every benefit 
his efforts could confer upon his people, we learn the wisest 
lesson finite minds can grasp — the merit of right living. In 
this solemn hour, made sacred to his memory, we recall his un- 
wavering fidelity to duty, his lifelong loyalty to manly honor. 
These are the pillars upon which his character was built. The 
achievements of selfish ambition are transient. The crovi-ns 
they bring to weary brows soon crumble into dust. Their lau- 
rels wither in an hour. Their monuments are quickl>- obscured 
beneath the sands of time. But the monuments which patriots 
build defy the wrath of .storms and master the might and blight 
of time. Self-sacrifice and devotion to duty are the most en- 
during attributes that adorn tlie soul. In the life of Senator 
Bate these qualities predominated. 

There is a fullness, a completeness in his career that calms 
our grief and thrills our hearts with inspiration. For almo.st 
eighty years he lived to bless the world with noble thoughts 
and generous deeds. Those eighty years were crowded with 
important events to our nation and to the world. The high- 
way that he chose in life was never devious. It was .straight 
from the hour of his birth to the hour of his death. Like a 



142 Memorial Addresses; J!'i//ia»/ P. Bate 

lauL- l)et\veeii open fields, it ran all the way without one crook 
or turn. It was bright as the shining pathway' of the just. 

Few men live .so long as he lived. Not many lives are filled 
with honors such as crowned his brow. It was given to him 
to serve his .State and his nation in many po.sitions of exalted 
trust. He always kept the faith. He never failed to do his 
dnt>'. He guarded with sacred fidelity every interest intrusted 
to his care. His life was rich witli varied experience. He 
knew all the hardships of physical toil, the peace of well- 
earned repose, the elation of success, the inicertainty of com- 
bat, the glory of triumph, and met with fortitude the hi.gh tide 
yf defeat. Two things he never knew — fear and dishonor. 
The great charm of his life story is that through all his 
years, through reverses and successes, his character remained 
unchanged, unsullied, and his name unstained. 

Whether we think of liim as a lad working in the sunny 
fields of Tennessee within sight and sound of the spot that 
gave him birth, or as a clerk on a steamboat that plowed the 
bo.som of the Mississipjn in the days when railroads were 
almost unknown ; whether we observe him as a private .soldier 
following with intrepid courage the Stars and Stripes in the 
war \\\\.\\ Mexico, or leading the dashing liattalions of the 
Confederacy amid scenes of bloody combat in the civil war; 
whether we contemplate him as State legislator, lawj-er, public 
prosecutor, Presidential elector, governor, or Senator, he is the 
same humble yet indomitable .spirit, always guided by heroic 
courage and unfaltering resolution. 

He was as gallant in battle as the " Bra\-est of the Brave." 
When the civil war began he was among the first Tennesseans 
to enlist in the Confederate army. Had either the State or the 
nation called alone he would have responded jo>full\-, for the 
fear of danger never moved him. Had either Teinies.see or the 



Address of Mr. Robinson^ of Arkansas 143 

United States called him to arms against a foreign foe his heart 
would have leaped to the contest, for the love of battle stirred 
him. But the call was the cry of Tennessee against the Union. 
Let no man living doubt that this ordeal was severe. To him 
who had known the glory of the ITnion f^ag and uplifted its 
fair folds in victory in a foreign land the test was awful. But 
the brave man never faltered. He believed that Tennessee 
was right, and he v»'eut to battle under a strange, new flag, 
against the banner that his services in Mexico had helped to 
sanctify to freedom. We .see him, wounded at Shiloh, his 
horse .shot under him, in the very chasm of the conflict; we 
behold him at Hoovers Gap, holding at bay with a few men 
the army of General Rosecrans. He stands by the river of 
death, welcoming with open arms the oncoming foe when 
Chickamauga's carnival of death begins. We see him fighting 
at the head of his troops, undaunted, fearless, pressing farthe.st 
to the front. One thousand and fifty-five brave hearts charge 
into the conflict with him. When the fury of the battle is 
spent, six hundred and seven of them lie dead or wounded on 
the field, and among them lies almost every field officer in the 
regiment. He .stands like a mountain of valor between Bragg's 
retreating hosts and utter rout at Missionary Ridge. 

At Resaca he is breasting the flood of death and driving the 
enemy before him. He plunges into the trenches at Dallas and 
grapples hand to hand with his foes. Leading the flank move- 
ment under General Hardee, he precipitates the bloody battle 
of Atlanta. He is next falling in wrath on the Federal Army 
at Eutaw Springs, and plucking from its steady grasp the Union 
.standards with the arm of victory. Wounded again, he soon 
returns to his duty, and we see him with Hood fighting against 
fate through the disastrous Tennes.see campaign. He faces 
death and baffles despair at Franklin, leading his soldiers into 



144 Memorial Aihh-essi-s: W'illiaiii B. Bate 

the enemy's trenches, and inspiring them by his own example 
to deeds of reckless daring. Behold him at Nashville when 
"the ranks are rolled in vapor, and the winds are laid with 
sound," his regiment surrounded, himself still suffering from a 
wound, cheering his men to deeds of hopeless daring by the well- 
known signal of his crutch waved in nudair. He followed with 
the heroism of despair the receding tide of the Confederacy as 
it ebbed back into the Carolinas, and at Bentonville displayed 
unequaled valor, although he must have known his cause was 
doomed. When at Greensboro, X. C, JMay i , 1865, he accepted 
his parole, he surrendered liate and malice- and resolved to start 
in life anew. 

In that great war every battle produced a thousand heroes. 
In all the hosts that went to strife from 1861 to 1S65 there was 
no braver soldier, no truer patriot, no nobler man in either army 
than \ViLLi.\.M H. B.\tk. 

In politics, Senator Bate was a Democrat. He Ijelieved in 
the doctrine of States rights — the right and power of a State 
to govern itself in all matters of local concern. He thought 
that the vStates, having created the Federal ITnion, had the 
right to dissolve it when a cause arose that seemed to the State 
to justify such action. \\"hen the question of the right and 
power of a State to .secede from the Union had been determined 
against his views, he accepted the construction written with 
the sword by the hand of war on the Constitution in letters 
of blood, and, acknowdedging tlie indis.sohdaility of the Union, 
.sought with su])lime earnestness to preserve the liberties of the 
people and the rights of the States under the Constitution and 
within the Union. 

When the war had passed and peace had come again to bless 
a reunited country, he began the practice of his profession, pur- 
suing it with diligence and patience. As a lawyer he was sue- 



Address of Mr. Rohiiisnii, of Arkansas 145 

cessful. It is written that his services as public prosecutor 
were characterized liy tliat high sense of duty and regard for 
ethics that seemed to inspire him in every relation of life. He 
served his party in its conventions and as Presidential elector, 
and was called by the people of Tennessee to the governor's 
office in 1882, and again in 1884 he was elected to that exalted 
position. 

The last phase of his career began with his election to the 
United States Senate in 1887. How well he discharged the 
duties of Senator may be determined from the fact that for 
four successive terms he was elected to represent his .State. 
The records of the Senate disclo.se that he was foremost in 
securing legislation for the advancement and improvement of 
agriculture. He resisted with all his power the attempt to 
pass the force bill. He maintained that the people of the 
States are capable (jf holding their own elections; that to 
impose Federal supervision of elections in the .State is an 
unwarranted tre.spass liy the General Government upon the 
right and power of the States to govern themselves. The 
defeat of the force bill was encompassed, and Senator B.VTE 
was reentrenched in the affections of the people of the South. 
He stood firmly against the forced alliance of Arizona with 
New Mexico, and ended his Senatorial career with a \-ictory in 
behalf of what he deemed .self-government. 

Senator B.\TE was a distinct representative of a type of Sen- 
ator that is rapidly pa.ssing. The ex-Confederate soldier will 
soon disappear from the I'nited States Senate. Since the close 
of the war the Southern States have attested their faith in the 
men who fought the battles of the Confederacy b>- uniformly 
lavishing political honors upon them. The most distinguished 
Senators from the Southern States during the last thirty years 
were ex-Confederate soldiers. They had been tried in the glow 
S. Doc. 403, 59-2 lo 



146 Memorial .hMns.us: U'illiaDi />'. Bale 

of a fiery furnace and the public knew them to lie worthy of 
honor and of confidence. Only a few remain in the Senate, 
but their presence there evidences the love and confidence 
which they earned by valor and retained by fidelity. What a 
race of men they were! What hardships they endured ; what 
jirivations the>' experienced ; what difficulties they encoun- 
tered ; what disappointments they met with ; what vict(5ries 
they achieved; what defeats they suffered! What valorous 
deeds they performed in war; what patriotic purposes prompted 
them in peace! Bravest of soldieries the wars of the earth 
have known, our .nation salutes you. Scarred cheeks and 
empt>' sleeves are >"our bad.tjes of bravery; honor, your watch- 
word ; courai;e, ^■our inspiration; hope, your emblem; imperish- 
al)le .u'lory is, and ever shall be, >dur reward. 

On .Shiloh's field, fertilized with the ashes of fallen heroes 
and washed b\' .streams of patriots' blood, stands a monument 
to the name of B.\TE. His fame is linked indissolubh' with the 
glory of that field. But in the homes of Tennessee, crowning 
her hilK and nestlini^ in the shadows that lock within their soft 
embrace her peaceful \-alleys, are monuments to his renown 
more endurini:; than marble shafts. Those monuments are the 
love of loyal hearts and the confidence of faithful friends. 

Farmer, lawyer, soldier, statesman! Faithful old friend of 
the people. You sleeji to-day in the bosom of Tennessee, 
secure in the love of all her citizens. She has given to fame a 
thousand names immortal, but none more everlasting than your 
own. For your patriotism and moderation, }our nobility of 
purpose, your indomitable resolution, the Republic mourns 
y<5ur death and re\'eres your memory. 



Address of Mr. A/cvcr, of Louisiana 147 



Address of Mr. Meyer, of Louisiana 

Mr. Speaker: I rise to second the resolutions connneniora- 
tive of' the life and services of Gen. Wilij.vm 15. I5.\TK, late 
vSenator from the State of Tennessee, who died in this city on 
March 9, 1905. 

My acquaintance with the late Senator dates from the period 
of the civil war, when every true son of the South felt impelled 
to devote himself to her cause and to the protection of her .soil. 

I first met liim during- the north Cxcorgia campaign of a hun- 
dred days, when, as was once described by the distinguished 
general himself, "every movement was a battlefield and every 
battlefield a graveyard; when for one hundred days cannons 
thundered and muskets flashed, and for one hundred nights the 
.stars looked down on new-made graves and new battle lines 
stained with blood." In all these conflicts General B.A.TE took 
a conspicuous part. I remember vividly his courtes>- and aflfa- 
bility to me, a youthful staff officer, the more marked because 
of his commanding position. 

Mr. Speaker, the story of Senator BaTE's career has been 
told by faithful ai d loving eulogists. His career illustrates the 
beneficence of our institutions and how nnich may he accom- 
plished under them by self-denial, hard work, inherent virtue, 
and earnestness of purpose. Young men may take courage 
from his example. 

Born in the State of Tennessee, which he loved .so well and 
served so splendidl>- throughout life, he received early an 
academic education, yet to broaden his practical knowledge and 
to maintain himself he worked as second clerk on a steamboat 
between Nashville and New Orleans. Later the mililarv ardor 



148 Mriiiorial Addrisscs: ]]'illia)ii />. Bate 

inherent in the youth inspired liini ,to enlist as a private 
throughout tlie Mexican war in Louisiana and Tennessee regi- 
ments, gaining an experience quahfying, training him for the 
brilliant career achieved in the four years of our liloody 
struggle. 

Returning from the Mexican war, he applied himself to the 
study of the law, the profession of his choice, graduating from 
the Lel)anon Law vSchool in 1852. His rise was stead>', 
crowded as the bar of Tennessee was by men of legal talents 
and acipiirements, and even thus earl\- his fellow-citizens con- 
ferred upon him man\- honors and evidences of confidence and 
distinction. 

But B.VTK was much more than a sound successful lawyer 
and politician. He was not much beyond 30 years when the 
war began that involved our land in four years of de.solatory 
conflict. The young law_\'er was quick to take up arms for his 
vState and section. Notwithstanding some military experience, 
he deemed it best to begin at the foot of the ladder. He 
enlisted as a private, but his capacity for duty as an officer, his 
industry, zeal, and high soldierly qualities soon secured for him 
a commission and steadily carried him through the various 
grades of lieutenant, cajUain, colonel, brigaxlier-general, and 
major-general, surrendering with the army of Tennessee in 
1865. 

Three times he was dangerously wmmded, carrying the 
marks of his braver>- to his dying daw 

This rise was not due to favor or influence. He won his 
spurs fairl\' b>- solid, enduring merit and b>- the faithful per- 
formance of dut>'. 

He ro.se to high rank in an army of brave men and skillful, 
tried, heroic officers, in such a host as has never been excelled 
in the story of human achie\-ement, \-irtue, and endurance. 



Address of Mr. J/rivv, of Louisiana 149 

Fighting against terrible odds, imperfectly armed and equipped, 
ill fed, having no reenforcements to draw upon, fighting long 
months a losing battle, we can now hardly realize the con- 
stancy and inflexible courage it required in the conunander, the 
strain upon the officers and men, but everyone who knew or 
who served with General Bate in those dark days bears witness 
to his wonderful heroism and liis knightly qualities. 
He was a man among men. 

Tho.se who knew him personalh- and the strength of his per- 
sonal character knew also there would be — there could be — no 
duty that he would not perform, whatever might be the per- 
sonal risk or sacrifice; whatever man could do in ou.set or to 
cover retreat in case of disaster he would be sure to do. 

He was a hero in the midst of heroes. By these he has been 
judged, and .so the verdict will stand forever. 

His monument is the history of the western army of the 
Southern Confederacy. 

When that unfortunate war clcsed in conquest, ruin, and 
humiliation for the South, General B.\TE returned to his work 
as a lawj-er; but even then, when the road to public distinction 
seemed closed to the returning soldiers of the lost cause, men 
like these were the natural counselors and leaders of the 
people, though in ]irivate life. Energetic in peace as he had 
been in war, he aided in wresting control of his State from the 
unworthy grasp of camp followers and renegades, and assisted 
to rehabilitate her after the degradation into which she had 
been plunged by the remorseless hordes which had used her only 
for purpc3es of plunder and persona! aggrandizement. 

But, Mr. Speaker, capabilities such as General H.\TK pos- 
sessed were not permitted by his fellow-citizens to escape further 
public service in behalf of his people. Soon after Tenues.see 
again came into the control of her own, in 1882, he was elected 



150 Memorial Addnsses: William B. Bale 

governor and reelected without opposition in 1884. In January, 
1887, he was elected to the ITnited States Senate, and took his 
seat March 4 following, to which he was thrice reelected, hold- 
ing this great position to the day of his death. 

And upon his entrance into that distinguished assemblage he 
fotnid himself, indeed, in goodh' and familiar company, many 
of them men who, like himself, had given their youth and 
blood to the cause in which he had borne so conspicuous a part. 
Among them I may mention Berry and Jones, of Arkansas; 
Blackburn, of Kentucky: Joseph Iv lirown and Cohpiitt. of 
Georgia; Butler and Hampton, of vSonth Carolina; Cockrell 
and \'est, of Mis.souri; Daniel, of Virginia; Eu.stis and (jib.son, 
of Louisiana; George and Walthall, of Mississippi; Isham Ct. 
Harris, of Tennes.see; Reagan and Coke, of Texas; Matt. Ran- 
som and Zebulon Vance, of North Carolina, and Morgan and 
Pugh, of Alabama — all of them bearing as eminent a part in 
the councils of the nation as they did in the campaigns and on 
the liattlefields of the lost cause. 

Mr. Speaker, I shall not dwell upon (Teneral Batk's career 
in the .Senate. He led a quiet and simple life, such as the Sen- 
ators from the South led in the old days when their thoughts 
and utterances were molding the doctrines of the Republic. 
But he was not an idle man. He neglected no public duty. 
He wasted no time in dissipation or the pursuit of plea.sure. 
He \vas a practical, laliorious Senator. 

He studied all the public questions that came up, and on the.se 
he formed his upinions quietly and firndy. I{\'eryone knew 
where to find him. 

Thoughtful, obser\-ant, studious, and upright, courteous, yet 
frank and truthful, when he did speak he proved himself an 
able thinker, a brilliant and forceful speaker. He did not go 
around seeking to make friends; he had no such art; but such 



Address of Mr. Mcvcr, of Louisiana 151 

was his perfect rectitude, his love of truth, and his courtesy 
that when he passed from the Senate to his great reward there 
was not one there who did not feel that he who had died was 
worthy to have been a senator of Rome when Rome survived. 

Tennessee loved and honored her noble son, and in this she 
honored herself. Never once was her pride and confidence in 
him withdrawn or even weakened. Bate could not but know 
and prize this wealth of trust and affection from his own people. 

In the death, of a man of tlie stamp of Senator Bate a whole 
nation sustains a loss. No man breathed who was more sin- 
cerely devoted to the best interests of his country, and his 
career as a Mexican and Confederate soldier and in public life 
is jeweled with examples of his admirable devotion to duty. 

The State of Tennessee was his pride. To her he brought 
commanding talents, patriotic purpose, and a zeal for the cau.se 
of other people's rights. 

In the councils of his country he was eminent for his wisdom, 
his eloquence, and purity of character. 

Mr. Speaker, there has been no ejioch in the history of man- 
kind when public trusts were more difficult, when to .ser\-e the 
State required higher abilitv and higher personal qualities than 
in the thirty years that followed the civil war, and especially 
from the public men of the South. 

They had to face a tempest of passion and a bitter prejudice 
that often brought a feeling to their hearts akin to despair. 

To plead the cause of a week and conquered people; to con- 
ciliate without sacrificing honor and duty, to be frank and yet 
not offensive; to lift up and regain the liberties of a trampled, 
hated, distrusted section; to make apparent all the good faith 
and patriotism of their constituents without resorting to unmanly 
recantations or fulsome protestations; to be patient and j-et 
strong under the most trying provocation ; to know what to yield 



152 Mriiiiiria/ Addrrsscs: U'i/lia»i B. Bate 

and when to hu firm; to hope on and fight on to restore the 
material prosperity- and pohtical future of their constituents, 
these, and far more than I can describe, were their difficult 
tasks. 

In this great work the wisdom, thoughtfulness, and patriot- 
ism of a heroic man like Bate was an invaluable aid to Tennes- 
see and the entire South. 

If he had ambition, who shall blame him? It was an ambi- 
tion not low nor selfi.sh nor sordid. It inspired him to .serve his 
State and the Union, to help rebuild an impoverished and 
suffering .section, and to increa.se the happiness and progress of 
mankind. 

It is by such generous aspirations that humanity advances to 
succe-ssive triumphs and States become great and opulent. 

But, now, Mr. Speaker, we nuist realize that the knightly fig- 
ure has gone from our view. I mean the earthly part, the casket 
which contained the jewel, but we can still see in the mind's 
eye the affable presence, the courteous mien, the kindly, frank 
tone, the countenance in which never lurked an ignoble thought. 

In the feverish, fretful struggle of life, with so much in its 
daily strife and contention that is sordid, saddening, and repul- 
sive, it is refreshing to turn aside and .study the lineaments of 
one who was a sterling patriot, an heroic soldier, a wise states- 
man, a devoted husband and father, a true friend, a gentleman 
of the South, in whom every element of our nature .seemed 
blended in harmonious i^roportious. 



Address of Mr. Garrett^ of Tennessee 153 



Address of Mr. Garrett, of Tennessee 

Mr. Speaker: In coininini with all Teniiesseans, I have 
some knowledge of Gen. \Villi.\:\i B. B.\te historically. His 
life touched four generations of our State, his public activities 
were linked with three, and during at least two of them he 
loomed quite large in the thoughts and affections and imagina- 
tions of our people. I had very limited opportunity, however, 
for obtaining a knowledge of his qualities and characteristics by 
personal contact or association with him. It was not my fortune 
to form his personal acquaintance until less than two years prior 
to his demise. He was the first governor of our Commonwealth 
whose election I can remember with distinctness, and I was but 
a small boy when he began his service as a Senator. His last 
term in the .Senate began on the same day that my first and 
present term in the House commenced, and he died five days 
after this date, so that I had no opportunity of being associated 
with him officially. 

Subsequent to my acquaintance with him, however, I was 
sometimes in his society, and can recall with keen pleasure con- 
versations enjoyed with him. From these I can and do bear 
cheerful testimony to the kindly spirit which he displayed and 
the generous suggestions, both helpful and instructive, that he 
offered. His advices with myself subsequent to my election 
to Congress were not confined merely to the details of official 
duties and labor, nor to the expression of opinions and views 
with respect to public questions and issues, but in a kindly and, 
it may be said, a fatherly manner he spoke with nie upon the 
more delicate questions of official conduct and decorum. I 
remember that the thought or theory which he seemed most 



154 Memorial Addresses: William />'. Bate 

anxious to emphasize and ini]>ress was tliat entire frankness, 
accompanied by courteous demeanor, was at once the funda- 
mental (hity i)f the pulihc servant and the surest foundation for 
success, l)oth temjiorary and ultimate. 

Thu man \vln> rtMiiaiiis lonj^ in ]»iil>lic service — 
he saitl, in substance — 

is l)roiij;ht fact- tofaccwitli many embarrassing and perplexing conditions. 
There are constantly arising contests between friends, conflicts between 
rival interests, both having claims upon him. Tact and courtesy and 
judgment must be displayed, of course, in such situations, but the easiest 
way out, the wa^' which will prove least embarrassing and contribute most 
to the strength of the man among the people, is and will always be 
an entire frankness, accompanied Ijy firmness not less pronounced because 
courteous. 

There is nothing new about this thought, of course; it is as 
old as human society. But it is one which each generation 
mtist learn and can not be too often emphasized, and I deemed 
it a most praiseworthx' act in that honored old puldic servant, 
standing in the gathering twilight of his sjilendid life — a life 
which had been crowned with rich honors and had as trophies 
the highest political prizes any .single Conunonwealth of these 
United States can bestow — to turn to one just entering, and 
that in early life, tipon public activities in an official capacity 
and make this thought the uppermost and most emphatic. 

The proof of that theor>-, if, indeetl, .sir, it may he called a 
theory, was demonstrated quite con.spicuously in General 
Bate's own career. He held iix-e difBerent official civil posi- 
tions by election of the people. To one of the.se, the govern- 
orship, he was twice elected. To the Senate of the United 
States he was four times commissioned. He received political 
support from three generations of Tennesseans. In all, he 
served the people for thirty j-ears in oificial civil capacities, 
and this service began two-thirds of a century, almost, before 



%- 



Address of Mr. Garrerl, of Trnncssrc 155 

it closed. If I remember correctly, he was never defeated Ijut 
once when seeking public position. That was in 1875, when b}- 
one majority ex-President Johnson was elected to the Senate. 
And, sir, it has escaped by observation in studying his his- 
tory if in all that time there was one instance of his 
deceiving man or men; if he ever evaded or sought to evade 
a responsibility; if he ever failed to meet any issue of his 
long life at, at least, the halfway point. During his long career 
he was a central figure in many heated and impassioned con- 
tests. -Think, sir, what changes were wrought within the 
span of this man's life. Measured by the history that was 
made and bv the experiences which accompanied its making, 
he lived far longer than did the ancient patriarchs who dwelt 
in the eastern land in mankind's early forenoon. What pas- 
sions, what poems, what romances, what vicissitudes and 
vitalities were incident to his agel All the records of human 
achievements through all the misty ages might be utterly 
destroyed— aye, effaced even from tradition and erased from 
human recollection— save the records made within the years 
from his birth to his death, and we should still have left 
accomplishments \ast enough and great enough to appeal to 
highest human thought, to kindle the loftiest imagination, 
and to thrill human hearts with every delight and ever\- 
despair which the spirit of man may feel. That age was a 
condensed resume of all the ages that have been, an ex- 
panded expression of the thoughts that are, and a prophecy 
of the things that are to be. 

From its activities and accomplishments philosopher and 
poet and painter and publicist and all may draw an inspira- 
tion with which to grapple the eternal problems ari.sing from 
mankind's mighty movements and a wisdom with which to 
solve them in that manner that will lead the race onward 



156 Mc))iorial .ItMnssrs: ll'illiani B. Bate 

and onward toward the heights, even tlie beautiful heights 
that he l>eyond the trenibhng stars. The epitome of all life 
is in that epoch; the past, with its passion and its power; 
the present, with its praj'er and its praise ; the future, with 
its dread and its dreams. 

And, sir, it is not saying too much to assert that the super- 
lative of all the achievements of that period are to be found 
in the history of these United States. With the.se far-reaching 
activities the name of General B.\TE was linked, not always 
conspicuously, indeed, but often so, and always honorably. 
The contests in which he engaged were .so environed that they 
brought into public view not only every (|uality of strength and 
every reserve ]iower belonging to the man, l)ut disclo.sed the 
flaws and exhibited the weaknesses as well. He emerged from 
them all not without criticism, it is true, but witnout a sugges- 
tion of .shame or an insinuation of lack of moral cr intellectual 
integrity. When you come to measure the manhood of a man, 
what greater encomium could be desired than that it max- be 
truly said he fought always in the open sunlight, never evading 
an issue, never avoiding a question, never deceiving his fellow? 
So far as I am familiar with the record of General B.\te, 
private and public, that may be truly .said of him; and, I 
think, sir, it is \-er\-, very fine. 

He po.s.se.ssed firmness, too, as well as frankness. His will 
was inflexible after his judgment had pointed the way. Had 
it not been so I am thoroughly convinced that he could never 
have met with such long-continued success in receiving honors 
from the people of that vState. A distinguishing, perhaps one 
may say the distinguishing, characteristic of the men of Ten- 
. ne.ssee who.se names are mo.st illustrious in our annals and are 
best remembered, and upon whom Tennesseans bestowed their 
bravest admiration and evidences of loyal love, was inflexible 



Address of Mr. Garrett^ of Tennessee 157 

determination, accompanied, it may be added, with aggressive, 
combative disposition. John Sevier, founder of the short-lived, 
romance-tinged State of FrankHn and father of the eternal 
Commonwealth of Tennessee, upon whose simple tomb in the 
public square of beautiful Knoxville is inscribed the words, 
"Thirty-five battles — thirty-five victories;" Robertson, who 
was to the Cumberland country what Sevier was to the Wa- 
tauga : Houston, who laid aside the governorship of the State 
to enter the wilderness, from whence he emerged bearing to 
the sisterhood of States a new Commonwealth which he, with 
Austin, had founded and grounded ; Jackson, whose ad sum 
will ring clear at every roll call of the immortals ; Polk, who, 
as floor leader in this House, joined with another statesman 
whom Tennessee gave to Missouri in the bud of his intelligence 
and power, the great Senator Benton, to lead in rendering the 
Jackson Administration conspicuous forever, and who, when 
later elevated to the Presidency himself, gave to the country 
the most brilliant four years of his existence and the most suc- 
cessful administration in crystallizing into law the conceptions 
and policies in the public thought of the times of any in our 
history; Bell, the great ante-bellum Senator; Harris, the war 
governor and distinguished post-bellum Senator ; Andrew 
Johnson, to whom a combat was meat and drink. In this list, 
which is but a partial one, of course, may be found conspicuous 
representatives of almost every shade of political thought dur- 
ing our ten and an hundred years of statehood, and the distin- 
guishing characteristic of each, the quality which every 
Tennessee schoolboy first notes, was unyielding determination, 
combined with aggressive temperament. It is not putting it 
too .strongly to say that General B.\te was as inflexible as 
either of these and was of that type whom Teuuesseaus have 
mo.st delighted to honor 



158 Memorial AMnssrs: Williaiii B. Bale 

The <letails of bis life have been sketched already with a 
refinement which leaves nothing to be desired. He was born 
nixin historic ground, in the county of Sunnier, near Bled.soe's 
Lick, famed in the jiioneer annals of our beloved State. This 
was one of the settlements of the Cumberland country estab- 
lished b\- the colonists who followed Robertson into the wilder- 
ness. The history of that settlement pulses with interest. It 
has seemed to me that one of the most significant, as it is one 
of the proudest, of its records is that of the hundred and fift\- 
seven men distributed over the several settlements comprised in 
the Cumberland countr\-, who.se names were signed to the com- 
pact of government drawn up by Robertson, a hundred and 
fifty-six wrote their names in good round English with their 
own hands. I doubt if this is true of a half dozen other 
pioneer settlements in history. The future soldier and publicist 
received his early training among the first generation of 
descendants of the pioneers, inheriting from his forefathers and 
absorbing from the tradition-saturated atmosphere about him 
a potent ambition and a sturdy self-reliance. Being in New 
Orleans as clerk on a steamboat at the outbreak of the Mexi- 
can war, he enlisted innnediately in a Louisiana regiment sent 
to the relief of General Taylor, and was the first Tennessean to 
reach the scene of hostilities. When his term of enlistment in 
this regiment expired, he joined the Tennesseans and .served 
until the close of the war as lieutenant. Returning from that 
struggle, he established and for a time edited a newspaper in 
his native county. Not long after attaining his majority he 
was elected to the general assembly of the State, serving one 
tern.i. Entering the practice of law, he was within two years 
made district attorney of his judicial circuit, one of the most 
important in the State. In this capacity he .served for six 
years. 

In 1S60 he was an elector on the Breckinridge-Lane ticket. 



AMnss of Mr. Garrett, of Teuiiesscc 159 

With the first call for volunteers in the war of secession he 
enlisted as a private. He was speedily made captain of his 
companv, and later colonel of his regiment, the Second Tennes- 
see. He was with this regiment iu its aid to Bee and Jackson 
at the first Manassas; desperately wounded at Shiloh; fired 
the first gun at Chickamauga, at Thedfords Ford on Friday, 
and the last as the blue line rolled down Snodgrass Hill on 
Sunday; again wounded at Missionary Ridge; fighting at 
Resaca, at Dallas, around Atlanta; back with Hood into Ten- 
nessee to lead his men into that awful hell of fire that flamed 
across the open field from the embattled earthworks at Frank- 
lin; aiding in the retreat from Nashville and its disasters; 
thence into the Carolinas to stand in the firing line on crutches 
as Joe Johnston struck the last blow of the Confederacy at 
Bentonville; from Bull Run to Bentonville — he began at the 
beginning; it was the end when he quit. For some years he 
turns to his profession, and then political life lures him again. 
The governonship iu 1882 and 1884, reuniting a divided party, 
settling the question of a State debt; the Senatorship in 1SS7, 
again in 1893; again in 1899, and again in 1905 — and then 
that incident which lies beyond our ken and of which we can 
only speculate; a funeral in the Chamber wherein he had sat 
so long; a journey back to Tennessee; a lying in state, while 
the thousands of the youth and old men, of maidens and moth- 
ers, passed by to look upon the last link that bound the first 
generation of Tennessee statecraft to the fourth; the interment 
among his kindred at Mount Olivet. His casket, sir, was 
draped with, and I think I have heard that he was buried 
wrapped in, the flags of two governments— one the cro.ss of 
St. Andrew, the symbol of a government that was; the other, 
insignia of a Government that is and, pray God, shall be 
always. This was quite as it should have been. He loved 
them both; both honored him; he gave to both his bravest 
and his best. 



i6o Meuioriat Addresses: M'illiaui 11. Bate 

I have spoken of the Hfe. Of the death I do not care to 
speak. He hved well- he was brave; he was clean; he was 
honest; he was a gentleman; his fiber was sound. He em- 
bodied the high virtues which Tennesseans in common with all 
tlie world admire. I have frequently thought, sir, that Ten- 
nesseans as a whole were much less demonstrative of what is 
called "State pride" than are the citizens of many of her sister 
Commonwealths. From a knowledge of them, however, I am 
convinced that this is not because they do not entertain it. 
Somewhat reserved, perhaps, as is their "bent and quality," 
they are intensely jealous of the honor of their Common- 
wealth, scrupulously regardful of the characters of those they 
trust with public .service, and they gaze with piercing eyes 
straight into the life of him who seeks -their favor. They 
looked so upon General Bate; they found him good; they 
found him sound; they clung by him. They gave great trusts 
into his hands with a confidence begotten of their belief in 
their own power to discern the worthy, and he pas.sed these 
trusts Ixick to them clean, unstained, unsullied. They were 
not surprised, because they knew it would, it nuist, be so. He 
maintained the integrity of his compact with them. He kept 
the faith — even the great faith of Tennessee — the faith of her 
fair traditions, the faith of her sweet traditions, the faith of her 
past glory, of her past great .ulor>-, the faith of her past love, 
her past fathomless love, the faith of her public virtues, of her 
luisullied public virtues. 

As in life the}' honored him because he was strong and 
brave and true, so now do they cherish his memory becau.se he 
maintained unbroken every thread in the line of puljlic luster 
and preserved the traditional loyalty to the good things of the 
soul and the great things of human relationship. He kept 
their faith. That was it. Through glory and thnjugh gloom 



Address of Mr. Garrett, of Tennessee i6i 

he kept their faith, even the g^reat faith of Tennesseans, and 
they are content, sir, qnite content. 

I have said that I do not care to speak of his death. I do 
not and I shall not in any language of my own. It was a part 
of the day's work, an incident in the great sweep and scheme 
of things. It means mnch — jnst how much we do not know. 
Some time we shall know, no doubt, but not now; that is, not 
all of us. The poet may know; the poet does know most 
among men, both of the things of earth and of the things 
beyond the earth. A great southern poet has written a great 
poem about death. In some respects it is the greatest of all 
his poems, and I think some lines of it are quite appropriate 
just here; 

Sad mortal! Couldst thou but know 

What truly it means to die. 
The wings of thy soul would glow 

And the hope.s of thy heart beat high ; 
Thou wouldst turn from the Pyrrhonist schools. 

And laugh their jargon to scorn. 
As the babble of midnight fools 

Ere the morning of truth be born ; 
But I, earth's madness above, 

In a kingdom of stormless breath — 
I gaze on the glory of love 

In the unveiled face of Death. 

I tell thee his face is fair 

As the moon-bow's amber rings. 
And the gleam in his unbound hair 

Like the flush of a thou.sand springs ; 
His smile is the fathomless beam 

Of the star-shine's sacred light. 
When the summers of Southland dream 

In the lap of the holy night ; 
For I, earth's blindness above. 

In a kingdom of halcyon breath — 
I gaze on the marvel of love 

In the unveiled face of Death. 
S. Doc. 403, 59-2 II 



1 62 Memorial Addresses: William B. Hale 

Tlirough the spleiulur of stars iiiipeark-d 

III the glow of the far-off grace, 
He is soaring world by world 

With the souls in his strong embrace; 
Lone ethers, unstirred by a wind, 

At the passage of Death grows sweet 
With the fragrance that floats behind 

The flash of his winged retreat; 
And 1, earth's madness above, 

'Mid a kingdom of tranquil breath, 
Have gazed c>n the luster of love 

In the unveiled face of Death. 

But beyond the stars and the sun 

I can follow him still on his way, 
Till the pearl-white gates are won 

In the calm of the central day. 
Far voices of fond acclaim 

Thrill down from the place of souls. 
As Death, with a touch like flame, 

Uncloses the goal of goals ; 
And from heaven of heavens above 

God speaketh with bateless breath — 
My angel of perfect love 

Is the angel men call Death! 



Address of Mr. But/cr, of To/iiesscc 163 



Address of Mr. Butler, of Tennessee 

Mr. Speaker: In tlie remarks which I shall submit on this 
occasion I do not propose to enter in detail into the history of 
this great and good man, whose death we so much deplore and 
whose memory we have met to commemoi-ate. His life and 
character, both civil and military, has been so ably and reliably 
depicted Ijy gentlemen who have preceded me it would be sim- 
ply a matter of repetition for me to dwell upon it. But as the 
distinguished Senator was born and reared in the county of 
Sumner, in the district which I have the honor to represent in 
this House, I feel that I should bear testimony of the high 
esteem in which he was held by these who knew him best and 
had shared Ids hospitalities in peace and with him the trials and 
dangers of war. 

Those who responded to his commands on the bloody historic 
fields of Shiloh and Chickamauga and who with a fidelity akin 
to worship have ever rallied to his standard since that time, 
until they lovingly but sadly laid him to rest on the 13th of 
March, 1905 — truly those people admired him as perhaps they 
did no other man; nor was this admiration undeserved, because 
with them he was as a brother, ever ready to extend a helpitig 
hand in time of distress and by his example and influence led 
them on to a higher and better life. 

He was perhaps more widely known than any man in Ten- 
nessee, and, on account of his heroic valor, his undaunted cour- 
age, his sterling integrity, his patriotic de\-otion to his country, 
his .self-sacrificing disposition, his loyalty and fidelity to his 



164 Mciiioricil Addresses: William B. Bate 

friends, his unswerving adherence to principle, and his Chris- 
tian character, none knew him but to love him. I had the honor 
of an intimate acquaintance with him from my early manhood up 
to his death, and can say without exaggeration a more courteous, 
affable gentleman I never met. He was the soul of honor — a 
true type of genuine .southern manhood, with which the country 
of his nativit\- so richly abounds. He was ever grateful to his 
political friends and tolerant of those who chose to oppo.se him, 
always conceding to others what he claimed for himself — 
honesty of purpose. 

His heart went out in sympathy to those in distress, especiallj- 
to those who wore the gray and shared with him the trials, 
privations, and dangers of that terrible conflict between the 
States, in which he played such a prominent part, as .shown 
from the records of the War Department and .statements of 
gentlemen on this floor. 

It is needless to say those old .soldiers loved him as a brother, 
because they demonstrated their devotion and confidence in him 
when they rallied to his standard almost^ to a man in the hottest 
political campaign Tennessee has witnessed for many years, in 
which he was triumphantly reelected to the United States Senate 
only a few months before his death. It was .said in that cam- 
paign that he was too old to longer make an efficient Senator, 
but the response came quick and fast, " Let him die in the har- 
ness," and .so he did. 

Tennessee mourns the loss of her distinguished son, and well 
she may, because with that same courage and patriotism dis- 
played on .so many hard-fought battlefields he was ever on the 
watchtower looking after the interests of his beloved State and 
the people who so often, but .so deservedly, honored him. In 
the death of Senator B.vte Tennessee has lost one of her most 



Address of Mr. Biitlcr, of Tennessee 165 

gifted and loyal sons and the nation one of its most efficient 
and trustworthy Senators. As a Senator he was ever at his 
post of duty, faithful to the trust his people had reposed in him, 
zealously guarding the interests of the nation with an ability 
and firmness worthy of the high position. 

His ashes rest beneath the sod of Tennessee, and his name 
and memory will live in the hearts of his people. 



i66 Memorial Addresses: Jl'ilh'a))/ B. Bate 



Address of Mr. Houston, of Tennessee 

Mr. vSpeakek : It would be reiteration for me to recount 
the life and deeds of the distinguished man to whose memory 
we are here to-da\- to pay just and lo\-ing tribute. This has 
already been fittingly and eloquently done. But, coming from 
the di-strict which I have the honor to represent in this body, 
and knowing the strong hold that Senator Bate had on the 
confidence and affection of the people of this district, I feel that 
I must voice in a few words the love and respect felt by that 
people for his name and memory. 

His State delighted to honor him while living and with una- 
nimity mourned his death. His life illustrates the ends that 
may be attained by simple faith and unfailing devotion to duty, 
and to his people is an ideal example of patriotism. He 
knew no halting at the call of duty, and gave his utmost 
endeavor to every .service that fell to his lot. Eager in the 
service of his country, he rushed to every po.st of duty. He 
gave his labor and shed his blood in her behalf. His chief 
characteristics were a devoted mind and an intrepid .soul. He 
never .swer\-ed from the line of duty as he .saw it, and no mortal 
danger ever caused him to ([uail or hesitate. 

As a member of the legislature of his State ; as the attor- 
ney-general of his judicial circuit ; as a private and lieutenant 
in the Mexican war; as private, captain, colonel, brigadier- 
general, and major-general in the civil war ; as governor of his 
State, and as Senator from that State — in each and all these 
places of honor and trust he did his part faithfulh' and well. 
He failed in no instance to measure up to the full performance 
of dutv. His official career before and since the war is written 



Address of Mr. Hoitslou, of Tennessee 167 

in the records of his State and of the American Congress. 
And I desire to insert with these remarks his mihtary record in 
the ^Mexican and civil wars as furnished nie by The Mihtary 
Secretary. 

This is his record as shown by the l>rief data of war, tiie 
unembellished statement of position held and .ser\-ice per- 
formed. But the real record of this soldier is not portrayed in 
this short official recital ; it remains yet for the historian to 
give that record in its fullness. It lives in fragments in the 
minds and memories of his surviving comrades, as they were 
a.ssociated with different parts of his career. It is green in 
their hearts, and will be until these hearts have .stilled their 
motion. It glows in the traditions and tales that are the com- 
mon heritage of the sons and daughters of southern soldiers. 
It li\-es in the song and .storj- of his .section and will be crystal- 
lized in American history when history shall, as history will, 
accurateh* set forth the valor and heroism of the gallant 
men who wore the gray. 

But his career in war was only a part of his life. There is 
another and a larger part of it that endears him to his people. 
When the war was ended, he in good faith accepted the condi- 
tions and did all in his power to restore jieace, that " ble,s,sed 
peace .so dear to God and inappreciably valuable to man." 
Then in the ranks of the civilian he measured up to the loftiest 
standard. He who had .so gallantly led his people on the field 
of battle was a conspicuous example and leader in the paths of 
peace. With courage and patriotism he met the trying condi- 
tions of the days ju.st after the war, and with patience, pru- 
dence, and moderation as his guides rendered signal .service in 
tiding over this difficult period and restorinj;- loyal allegiance to 
a reunited country. And later on, when again called by his 
people into public service as governor of his .State, his adminis- 



i68 Mcii/or/a/ Addrcssrs: W'illiaiii B. Bale 

tration was just and sagacious, and as a Senator liis course was 
noted for its wisdom and absolute fidelity to every trust. 

His career was marked by intelligent application and indus- 
tr\-. The conscientious performance of duty was the doctrine 
that guided his every step, and the people of his State knew 
that in him they had a representative who could bring no 
reproach, but would reflect honor, upon the State that so loved 
to liouor him. 

Mr. Speaker, the respect and confidence that the people of 
Tennessee reposed in Senator B.vtk was a treasure that a king 
should be proud of. And this treasure he earned by honest 
and f;;ithful .service to his people. In every walk of life he 
held their approval. That whole life was devoted to their 
service. In times of peace he labored for them; in times of 
war he leil them in liattle. As a civilian he served them with 
distinction; as a .soldier his record is that of a hero. Three 
times he was dangerously wounded in battle; still he was un- 
dismayed and fought on, maimed and crippled in body, yet 
undaunted in .soul. His devotion was ,so great he could not 
hesitate or falter; his faith and purpose so steadfast he could 
not turn his mind from the course of duty, and no peril to him- 
self e\-er checked him in that course. He fought a good fight. 
To his intrepid spirit was due the success of his life, and he 
attained his purpose and ambition in life to a remarkable 
degree. His career was rich in honors and ripe in years, but — 

The liaiul of the Reaper 
Take.s the ears that are hoary. 

And at the age of almost founscore he was gathered to his 
fathers. He was laid to rest beneath the sod of his own 
native State. His comrades buried him with the honors of 
war and his State bowed its head in re\'erent sorrow. 

His natural instincts to do his whole dutv on everv occasion 



Address of Mr. Hon stem, of Tennessee 169 

and his disregard of danger to himself were perhaps the causes 
of his sudden end of hfe. His attendance and part in the inau- 
gural ceremonies of the President and the exposure resulting 
from it were more than his years and strength could stand. In 
a few short days the summons came. And the same high 
courage that had borne him through so man}- conflicts sustained 
him then, and with fortitude and resignation he answered the 
last call. In that hour he was a conqueror still. He died the 
death of the righteous, universally lamented as a model of the 
true and the valiant — as an honest and earnest patriot. 

The fairest treasure mortal times afford 
Is spotless reputation. 

This treasure Senator Bate po.ssessed in life, and dying left 

as a heritage to his people. 

[Note. — For a duplication of the official statement of the military record 
of Senator B.\TE, appended to Mr. Huston's address, see pages 66 and 
69.] 



Memorial Addresses: ll'il/iaiii B. Bate 



Address of Mr. Padgett, of Tennessee 

Mr. Speakkk: A st-vere hoarseness, as the result of la 
grippe, will deny to me the opportunity of speaking at length 
upon this occasion. Moreover, the very late hour admonishes 
me that I should be brief. Others, more capable than I, have 
spoken at length of the achievements and given in detail the 
life work of this distinguished .statesman, and I feel m\' inability 
to add much to what has been already' so eloquently spoken. 

Mr. vSpeaker, near Castalian S]>rings, in vSumner County, 
Tenn., on October 7, 1826, a child was born. In the city of 
Washington, March 9, iyo5, a man died. This period mea.sures 
the life work of a distinguished and well-beloved son of Ten- 
nessee. Senator William B. Bate lived to a ripe old age, 
and died full of \ ears and full of honors. His actix'ities were 
varied and co\x-red a wide field of action; both in war and in 
civil life he distinguished him,self preeniineiitlx'. In war he 
rose from the position of a private to that of major-general, and 
in <:ivil life he was connnissioned by the great State of Teinies- 
see as one of its ambassadors in the Senate of the United States. 
I shall not attempt to rehear.se in detail the particulars of either 
his military or civic life — that has already been told in language 
more eloquent than I can hope to emplo\-. The simple state- 
ment of his rise to the position of a major-general and for four 
successive terms a Senator of the United States bespeak suffi- 
ciently the merits of the man. 

Mr. Speaker, I come not to flatter or to speak extravagantly 
of the life and character of Senator Batk, and yet I would not 
be content unless I availed mj'self of the opportunit>- of this 
occasion to Ijear testimony to the jiurity of his life, the nofiility 



Address of Mr. Padgett., of Tennessee 171 

of his character, and tlie efficieuc}- of his Hfe work. .Senator 
Bate was tried in many ways and alwaj's found true. In the 
discharge of his* duties as a private soldier or as a commanding 
officer on the field of battle or in camp life; or as a private 
citizen in the business affairs of life, or as a civic officer, he ever 
measured up to the fullness of the standard "always present. 
ahva\s prepared." 

Senator Bate possessed in an eminent degree all the elements 
of character, all the qualities of heart and mind essential to a 
generous and noble manhood. Posses.sed of a strong and vigor- 
ous intellect, he was capable of a comprehensive under.standing 
of the great problems arising in social and political life. A man 
of splendid courage, his actions measured up to his convictions. 
But, Mr. Speaker, better than mere intellectuality was the 
nobility of his character, the charity of his heart, the purity of 
his life. In all the elements constituting nobility of character, 
integrity, honor, honesty, and purity he was a Gibraltar; im- 
movable from the right, impregnable to wrong. It was these 
qualities of his life which so endeared him to the people of 
Tennessee and gave them such abiding confidence and unshaken 
faith in him. 

Mr. Speaker, Senator Bate %vas a man of generous impulses 
and a catholic spirit. He did not limit his sympathies or con- 
fine them by narrow jealousies. The generosity of his heart is 
well expressed in the lines: 

He prayest best who loveth best 

All tUings both great and small; 
For the dear God who loveth us, 

He made and loveth all. 

Mr. Speaker, if I rightly understand the aim of his life or 
correctly interpret the philosophy of life which inspired his life 
work I think it is aptly expressed in these lines of the poet: 



172 Memorial Addresses: ]\'illiai)i B. Bate 

I live fur those who love me, 

For those who know ine true ; 
For the heaven that smiles above me 

And awaits my spirit too; 
For all himian ties that bind me, 
For the task by God assigned me, 
For the bright hopes yet to find me, 

And the good that I can do. 
I live to hold comnmnion 

With all that is divine; 
To feel there is a union 

'Twixt nature's heart and mine. 
To profit In- affliction, 
Reap truth from fields of fiction, 
Grow wiser from conviction. 

And fulfill God's grand design. 

I live for those who love me, 

For those who know me true ; 
For the heaven that smiles above me 

And awaits my spirit too ; 
For the cause that lacks assistance, 
For the wrong that needs resistance, 
For the future in the distance, 

.\nd the guo.l that I may do. 

Mr. Speaker, true to his lo\e, iu the hour of death he gave 
the injunction. "Take me l)ack to Tenne.ssee. " This wasdone. 
His body lay in state in the Capitol, and thou.sands took a last 
look and did homage to the departed vSenator. On the dav 
of his burial maiij- thousands stood reverently to witness the 
ceremony of placing his body iu the grave, "earth to earth, 
ashes to ashes, dust to dust," to await the resurrectiou. Then 
came the impressions of another scene, when the women went 
early in the morning to the sepulcher of a loved One and found 
the stone rolled away, and asked the gardener the whereabouts 
of the loved One whom they found not; and the angel answered, 
"He is not here." Leaving the flower-covered moiuid, lifting 
our vision above the glory of the western sun, we shall expect 
to find .Senator 15.\tk in the company of the true and good of 
earth in that richer, better, nobler life of which the angel 
spoke, saying", "He is risen." 



Address of Mr. Sims, of Tennessee 173 



Address of Mr. Sims, of Tennessee 

Mr. SpEAKicr: After all that has been said as to the life, 
character, and public services of the late lamented Senator 
Bate in this House and in the Senate, I find it difficult to 
express myself so as not to appear as repeating and adopting 
the words and ideas of those who have preceded me in 
addressing the House on this sad occasion. But it will l)e an 
even tnore difficult task to relate all in the life of the great 
Senator that will be of benefit to those of us who survi\-e him 
and to those who come after us. 

I have known Senator Bate intimately for thirty years, and 
I never knew a nobler man, one whose every act and deed, 
whether private or public, was more worthy of example. 

I shall leave to others who are more familiar with his career 
as a soldier the narrative of his military achievements. I feel 
incompetent to do him justice in that regard. I shall not 
dwell on his record as governor of Teiuiessee nor on his record 
as a Senator. All these have received treatment at the hands 
of those better fitted for it than I am. I think, in relating the 
facts in the life of a good and great man, that it is well to tell 
of the little things with which every day is crowded, but 
which, being of apparently no consequence, are not the result 
of effort or study, but are the uncolored outgivings of the 
heart — the real man and not the actor. 

When I first came to \Va.shington as a Member of the iMl'ty- 
fifth Congress at the extraordinary .session, in March, 1897, I 
took my meals at the Ebbitt Hou.se, the well-known hotel in 
this city where Senator Bate lived all the time of his Sena- 
torial career and where he died. I was asked by him to sit at 



174 Mouorial Addresses: W'illiani B. Bate 

his taljle and take my meals with the Senator and his noble 
wife. In this way, during more than four months of that 
session of Congress, I was the constant companion of the 
Senator. Though he was old enough to have been my father, 
I found him one of the most interesting, pleasant, affable, and 
desirable companions I ever had, regardless of age. During 
this time I never saw him angry, never heard him scold or 
speak cress to a .servant; was always most punctual in his 
attendance at meals; always gave Mrs. Bate as much personal 
attention and gallant consideration as if she were in her girl- 
hood teens and he her lover and suitor, in.stead of the gray- 
haired grandsire that he was. 

I ne\'er in all my acquaintance witli him heard him .say one 
unkind word about anybody. He seemed to be governed in 
his conversation about others by the rule that ii he could not 
.sav anything good about them to say nothing. He never took 
advantage of the privilege of a j^rivate convensation to abuse 
and denounce anyone, however much he might disagree with 
them. He was always l)old and strong in his denunciation of 
wrong as such and never excused or palliated what was realh^ 
wrong in his best friend, but in doing so he always refrained 
from personal abu.se or innuendo. 

His integrity and purity of life were his elements of greatest 
strength. Although a learned lawyer, a great orator, an 
accomplished .scholar, his character for old-fashioned honesty 
was his greatest element of power and influence in the Senate. 
Xo man was ever heard to question his honesty of purpo.se, 
whatever his position might be on anj' question. 

In his long career there was never even .so much as a 
whisper of scandal in connection with an}- of his public acts. 
He was liberal, but not extravagant. He died a much poorer 
man than when he first came to the vSenate. He was fortu- 



Addrt'ss of Mr. .Sn//s, of Tennessee 175 

nate in that he had a competence when he entered pubhc 
office, and his views of public duty were such that he retired 
from all active professional or business pursuits and gave all 
his time and energies to his Senatorial duties. 

It is sad to think that the meager compensation of Senators 
will not permit them to ser\'e in that great body, giving all 
their time and strength to their public duties, except at a sac- 
rifice to themselves and their families. But such has been the 
fact .so long that the public have concluded that the only 
acceptable evidence of official honesty is to quit office in pov- 
erty, or at least in reduced circumstances. 

The great Senator, figuratively speaking, was so erect in his 
relations with the world while in office that he appeared to 
lean backward. He literally shunned the very appearance of 
evil. I knew of an instance where an old and loved friend of 
the Senator had received his aid in a matter — not strictly offi- 
cial in character, but while in office — who afterwards .sent the 
Senator a present of small value, simpl>- as a token of gratitude, 
who was greatly mortified when the .Senator returned the arti- 
cle with a letter thanking his friend for his intended kindness, 
but refusing ab.solutely to receive anything of the .slightest 
value as a gratuity, however innocent the intention of the 
donor might be. 

He refused all courtesies in the way of free railroad tran.s- 
portation and express or telegraph franks, but never in the 
slightest impugned the motives of any other man who did not 
follow in his foot.steps. 

He was indefatigable in his official labors. As a Member of 
the House I have had every opportunit\- to know him well in 
this regard. I was often interested in the passage of a private 
bill in the Senate, and on account of the .Senator's great age 
and out of a feeling of kindness to him I have sometimes asked 



176 Mniiorial .hMrrssrs: U'iUiaii/ B. Bale 

the then junior Senator to look after a private l)ill : but Sena- 
tor Bate in every instance asked me whj- I did not come to 
hini in the matter and always seemed hurt because I did not 
put the bill in his hands. His love for work was so great that 
he seemed to want to do it all, and any manifestation of sym- 
pathy for him on account of his age or infirmities seemed to be 
painful to him. 

I saw him on the day of the inauguration of President Roose- 
velt on his way to the platform to take his seat as a member 
of the inaugural committee. In the Rotunda of the Capitol 
on his way I saw he appeared to be fatigued, pale, and ex- 
hausted. He was urged by an employee of the Senate, who 
took note of his condition, not to go out in the cold wind and 
sit with the committee, but the Senator would not heed the 
efforts of his friends, but, in what he regarded as a discharge 
of duty, made his way to the front of the inaugural platform, 
took his .seat, and remained there until the inaugural ceremo- 
nies were over, exposed to a cold north wind, from which ex- 
posure he took a severe cold, resulting in fatal illness of only 
three days' duration. He thus literally died at his post: he 
fell on the firing line. 

Mr. vSpeaker, to state all that occurred in the life of Senator 
B.\TK that is useful and instrncti\-e to the people of his State 
and nation wnuld fill a large volume, which is impossible on 
this occasion, but I hope some gifted writer will do justice 
to his name and fame and leave in enduring form a full and 
complete hi.story of the public and private acts of this good 
and great man. 

Mr. Speaker, I had the honor to be on the committee 
appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives 
to attend the fmeral and burial of Senator Bate, which took 
place at Nashville, Teini., with military honors, on the 13th 



Address of' Mr. Sims, of Tcniicsscc 177 

dav of March, 1903. Tennessee has had many great and well- 
beloved men, and lier people love to show their love for her 
great and glorious dead; but I never heard of and certainly 
never saw the attendance of so large a gathering of the peojile 
of Tennessee at the funeral and Inirial of any other man as 
was in attendance at that of Senator 15ate. The jieople of 
every walk of life from every part of the State came in almo-t 
numberless thousands, and with bowed, l)ared heads paid the 
hero dead the last but most tender tribute of their love and 
respect by the shedding of unaffected tears. Though dead, \el 
he lives i.n the example of a good and great life by the follow- 
ing of whose teachings all the world may be made better. 



FfRTHER ACTION- OF THE HOUSE. 

The Speaker pro tempore. In ])nrsuance of the resolu- 
tions heretofore adopted, and as a further mark of respect 
to the deceased Senator, the House will stand adjourned. 

Accordingly (at 5 o'clock and 42 minutes) the House 

adjourned. 

O 
S. Doc. 40}., 59-2 12 







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